A Fresh Start
by Jellybob 15
Summary: This story takes place after the Battle City Tournament, when they return to school. All Tea and Yami fans are welcome! Completed!
1. The Meeting

Disclaimer: Do not own the show, the characters, or YGO merchandise. If I did the world would be a better place now. (Just kidding.)

To Reader: I wanted to go in a different direction with my YGO stories. So, this story takes place after the Battle City Tournament. The gang is back in school, but they act differently with one another. (It's like the aftermath of Battle City.) The twist is, everyone has changed since Battle City. Tea's more into her studies rather than ballet, Joey's popular with the ladies as is Yami, Tristan's dating Miho, and Yugi is just doing his own thing. Anyway, it's mostly centered around Tea and Yami and how they gradually find feelings for one another after a couple of incidents that occur inside and outside of school. 

~Some Notes~

*Yami does not have millenium puzzle anymore, but he does have his own body.

*Seto Kaiba is the nice guy in this story. 

*Tea used to date Duke. 

*They all have the same personalities as in the series. 

*They wear the same things as they did in Battle City. 

*Yami's currently dating Serenity.......not for long though.

Chapter One: The Meeting

"Okay class, open your books to chapter three." Tea heard the teacher say to the class. 

Tea obeyed her instructor, sighing to herself as she did so. It had been a long class period. She couldn't concentrate today. Her mind was on their breakup. She always liked Duke, but when she saw him with that skinny blonde girl.......

"Would you like to read the first paragraph Tea?" Tea shook her head softly. 

"Um...sure..." Tea looked down at her history book, trying not to panic. 

That's when her friend, Tristan Taylor, pointed to the paragraph that they were supposed to read. Tea laughed nervously and read it slowly. She let out a sigh of relief once finished with it. 

"Thank you, alright how about the next one.....Joey Wheeler...." Tea looked over to Joey. 

"I forgot my book at home." Joey replied. 

Tea rolled her eyes. Ever since Joey came back to school, he had a new attitude. She hated it. He didn't study, do his homework or anything. He just talked to girls. 

"This is the third time this week..." The teacher said calmly. 

"I'll remember next time...." Joey answered. 

Tea sighed to herself again. She didn't realize that she was drawing a picture of a heart with the word "Duke" inscribed in it. She grunted loudly and erased it quickly. Tristan looked over to her. 

"You alright?" He whispered.

Tea raised her head up and looked into her friend's brown eyes. Ever since the Battle City Tournament, Tristan and her have been very close, but not close enough to go out or anything of the sort. 

"Yup." Tea responded as she tapped her pencil on the desk softly. 

Finally, the bell rang for the period to end. Tea rose out of her seat and looked over to Tristan. He smiled and walked side by side with her out of the classroom. She cleared her throat softly and looked at him. 

"Do you mind walking me home today, Tristan?" Tea asked polietly. 

Tea tried not to cringe at the thought of Duke. She remembered them walking home together, laughing and holding hands as they walked to her house. She tightened her fist at the thought. 

"Sorry Tea, but I'm staying after school with Miho....." Tristan responded. "What about Duke?" 

Tea cleared her voice and gave him a blank stare. "What ABOUT Duke?" She said sarcastically. 

"You guys used to walk home together, all the time." Tristan said. 

"Not anymore, we........we....broke up." Tea forced out. 

"Oh....." Tristan looked at her. "Do you want to talk about it?" 

"No....thanks anyway." She said as he shrugged his shoulders. 

"Alright, see ya later then." He said as he started walking away. 

"Bye Tristan," she said softly as he turned around. 

"Bye!" He yelled as she smiled and walked out the school. 

That's when she saw Joey and Yami talking to each other on the bike rack with Serenity. She figured that they were too busy to talk to her, so she continued to walk. She stopped in her tracks once she felt a soft tap on the shoulder. She knew it was Duke. She turned around and looked into his green eyes. 

"Listen, I have to get going." Tea said as she walked past him. 

"Wait, I can explain..." Duke reasoned. 

"There's nothing to explain." Tea said. 

This little argument caught Yami and Joey's attention. They looked over and watched carefully. Serenity rolled her eyes and tried to get Yami's attention. Her attempt failed. 

"Please Tea, I was just talking to her...." Duke said as he tried to touch her hand. 

"Don't touch me. You're such a liar." Tea said. 

"Be like that, but you'll be sorry." Duke said. 

"I'm already sorry," Tea started. "Sorry I ever met YOU!" 

"Oh really?" Duke remarked. "You'll soon BE sorry you ever met me!" 

"Are you threatening me?" Tea stated. 

"What if I am?" Duke responded. 

*SMACK* 

"You're such a freak!" Tea yelled as she stormed off. 

Duke stood there watching her walk away as he held his hurt cheek. He looked around to see a crowd looking at him. He clenched his teeth and yelled, "Out of my way!" 

~Meanwhile~

"TEA!" Joey yelled as Yami and him caught up to her. 

"What?" She asked as Joey smiled. 

"That was so cool!" Tea glared at him, holding back tears. 

Yami gave him a serious look. 

"I mean, that you told him how you really feel....." Joey said nervously. 

"Oh yeah." Tea whispered as her house came into view. 

"Well, if you ever need to talk.....Joey and I will always be there for you...." Yami said. 

Tea smiled and looked at him. 

"Just like old times..." Tea said softly. 

Yami glanced at her and sighed. He missed those "old times," even though he never admitted it to the group. She smiled weakly and walked to her door with them. 

"Well, I'll see you guys in school tomorrow." Tea said as they nodded their heads. "Yeah, if they're not surrounded by guys..." She said to herself. 

She smiled as they walked away from her house. She was surprised they walked home with her. They never did that because they were too busy with their "other friends." She took a deep breath and started to search for her keys. Her thoughts started to drift upon what Yami told her. She never thought Yami would say something like that. She smiled at the thought. She sighed to herself and grabbed the loose set of keys in her bag and opened the door. She walked into the empty house to see a note on the fridge. It read:

Sorry we couldn't be here, your father and I had another important meeting to attend to. I'm sure you'll be fine on your own. I left some money on the table, use it wisely. 

Love, 

Mom

Tea read the note a couple of times until she could read it no more. She crumpled it up and threw it in the garbage. Just like her parents, they were never home. She pratically had to raise herself. 

"I guess that's why I'm such an idiot..." She whispered as she thought of Duke again. 

People didn't see the real Tea. If they did, she would probably be abandoned by her friends. The inside of Tea's mind was not pretty, but she never would show her true colors. She felt it was the only way to gain acceptance among her friends and family. She wished it wasn't this way. She didn't like to be always happy. It just wasn't healthy in the society she grew up in. She sighed and looked through her c.d. collection, trying to find a decent c.d. for the mood she was in. She found one. 

"......and I am...whatever you say I am.....if I wasn't then why would I say I am....in the paper, the news, everyday I am.....radio won't even play my jam....." Tea sang loudly as she cooked something to eat. She didn't bother ordering out with her mom's money. Waste of time. {It was Eminem, if you guys didn't catch the song she was singing.}

The clock finally struck 11:oo. She yawned loudly and turned off her c.d. player. She changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, not wanting to wake up tomorrow. As she slowly closed her eyes, one thought stuck in her head......Duke. She opened her eyes again, mad at herself for even thinking of him. She sat up and covered her face with her hands. 

"This is going to be a LONG night...." She whispered as she rested her head on the pillow again. 

~To be continued.......~

To Reader: It gets better. Much better. I know it sounds like a Duke/Tea fic, but I promise it isn't. Tea is just having a problem getting over him. More Yami and Yugi in later chappies. See ya soon. 


	2. Love Stinks!

Disclaimer: Do not own the show, the characters, or YGO merchandise. If I did the world would be a better place now. (Just kidding.)

__

Italic : means that the person is thinking to him or herself.

P.S.- Italic is for a song too.

To Reader: Thank you so much for reviewing!!!! I'm so glad that you like the story so far. I hope this chapter is as good, or better, than the first chappie. Oh...and to warn everyone, this romance might take a long time to blossom....so please be patient and sit back and enjoy. 

Chapter Two: Love Stinks

"Yes, I'll marry you Duke." Tea said softly as she hugged her pillow. 

As she spoke those words, her smile enlarged. She sighed deeply and continued to trick her mind into thinking that she was in a state of happiness by constructing a dream. A dream that consisted of only Duke and her watching a beautiful sunset while holding hands. 

She felt that she was in utter bliss, that is until........

"Yes, we are here with the top hits of the day on your favorite Domino radio station, Q104!" 

.....Her radio went off.

Tea looked up from her pillow to look at the time. She shook her head, thinking that it was too early, and hit the snooze button repeatedly until it shut off. She yawned loudly and placed her head back on the pillow. "Stupid alarm," she thought as she fell back asleep. 

She finally woke up again feeling refreshed. She sat up and looked at the clock. Her mouth dropped open. 

"School starts in fifteen minutes!" She yelled as she ran into the bathroom to take a shower. 

After guzzling down her breakfast and throwing some crackers in her book bag for lunch, Tea ran at full speed toward the school building. Once inside, she collected some books from her locker and ran to homeroom, which was on the other side of the building. As she rushed past the different hallways and floors, her spirits lifted. _"I'm actually going to make it!" _She thought as she turned the corner, only to bump into an unsuspecting being. The collision made her loose all the books that she was lagging around.

"I'm sorry, I-" She looked at the boy in front of her. 

__

"Of all people, why you!?" Tea yelled in her head as she looked at him. 

"Don't be, I know you did it on purpose." Duke said as her face turned red.

"Dream on....." Tea said angrily as she picked up her books. 

"Hmph!" He said as he brushed himself off. 

"I don't need this, I have to get to class before the bell rings." Tea said hastily. 

*Ring!*

"Oh no..." Tea said as she raced to her homeroom.

As Tea turned the knob to her homeroom, she saw the teacher look up and frown.

"You are late, Ms. Gardner." The teacher said furiously.

"Yes I know, but I can explain-" Tea said as the teacher interrupted rudely.

"There is no explanation," the teacher said coldly. "Detention."

"What? But, it's not my fault-"

"Detention." The teacher said again.

"I-" 

"Would you like to get detention for the week?" The teacher said with annoyance in her voice.

"No," Tea said softly.

"Then find your seat," the teacher said as Tea slowly walked to her seat.

As she walked to her seat, she could hear snickering from behind. She knew it was Joey. She clenched her teeth tightly and plopped into her seat carelessly. "Why me?" Tea asked softly as she placed her head on the desk. Once she did that, a soft voice whispered to her from behind.

"Don't worry Tea, I'm sure the day will get better." Yugi said cheerfully. 

Tea smiled softly. Yugi was the only one that made her feel better, even during the worst of times. Her smile soon turned into a frown once she thought about the person that used to cheer her up as well. Duke.

"Or worse....." Tea whispered back as she thought about the incident with Duke.

"It only gets worse before the sun shines again." Yugi said softly. 

"That means that I am going to be in the dark for a long time...." Tea said as the bell sounded loudly.

__

~After School~

Finally school was over. Tea breathed a sigh of relief once she dropped some of her heavy books in her locker. As she made her way to detention, she couldn't help but take a glance at Duke. He was talking to the same blonde they had a fight over. She closed her eyes tightly and told herself to hold back the tears that were trying to escape her eyelids. She couldn't take it anymore! Seeing Duke with another girl was like poison. She just wished that it would kill her soon. 

As she made her way toward the bathroom, she felt Duke staring at her. _"Don't turn around, it will only make matters worse!" _A voice yelled in her head as she touched the bathroom door slowly. _"Come on Tea, don't look...." _She screamed as she turned her head slightly. _"You're better than him, you don't need him to control your life."_ She couldn't take it any longer. She rushed into the bathroom and ran into an empty stall, crying out all the tears that she had held back.

After a good three minutes of crying, Tea brushed away the excess tears and walked out the stall to wash her face. She turned on the cold water and starting washing her face of her sorrows. She slowly looked into the mirror to make sure she looked presentable to the rest of the world. She sighed, not liking what

she saw in the mirror. _"A pathetic girl who can't get over a pushy boyfriend." _She said to herself as she looked away from the mirror and walked toward the detention room. 

~After Detention~

"Finally we're free.....I couldn't take the smell of that old bag." Mai said, referring to the detention teacher. "I mean what kind of women wears cheap men's cologne?" 

Tea laughed. It was the first time she heard herself laugh in awhile. They walked side by side until they were pushed apart by Tristan and Joey who were scrambling out of the school. 

"They are going to get into so much trouble," Yami said from behind.

Mai and Tea turned around to look at Yami. He smiled and squeezed in between the two.

"Why do you say that Yami?" Tea asked as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, they skipped detention in order to go to the gym to see the women play volleyball after school." Yami said as Tea rolled her eyes. 

"Isn't Serenity in volleyball?" Mai asked as Yami nodded.

"Yeah, that's why I stayed after-school." Yami said as the two girls nodded.

As they exited the building, they saw an exhausted Tristan and Joey waiting outside the school.

"You guys are gonna get in so much trouble!" Tea exclaimed as Tristan shrugged his shoulders. 

"It was worth it." Joey said as Tristan fake-drooled.

They all started laughing. Tea stopped and looked at all of them together again. She smiled and cherished the moment, especially since these were rare. 

Ever since the Battle City Tournament, Yugi and Yami received their own bodies and Serenity came home to live with Joey. It was nice at first, but when Yami and Serenity started going out and Duke asked her out.....things have never been the same. The only thing that kept her together was....Duke. Duke always helped her out with her problems and tried to be there when she needed him. It was great, but then things started to go downhill. Duke started lacking behind in schoolwork because he was working at his shop. He started spending less and less time with her, and even used her as an answer sheet for his homework. Seeing Duke with that blonde was the last straw. She had to get away.

__

But, was it the right thing to do? 

"Tea?" Yami asked as she shook her head lightly.

"Oh sorry.....yes?" She asked as she looked into his violet eyes.

"Nothing, it just looked like you were in another world for a second." Yami replied.

"I do that sometimes." Tea admitted as Joey smiled at her. "Especially now, with all the things I have to deal with." She added as they all nodded sympathetically. 

"How about a song?" Joey asked as Tea looked at him oddly. "To cheer ya up, I mean." 

"Yeah!" Tristan said as they walked up behind her. 

"No that's okay....really!" Tea said as they started singing the chorus to the BSB song, _"Everybody!" _

"Am I original?" Joey yelled as Tristan joined in.

__

"Yeah!" 

__

"Am I the only one?" Joey yelled out again.

__

"Yeah!" 

"Am I sexual?" He whispered in Tea's ear as Yami started laughing. Tea smacked him with her history book and walked past him. 

"You are so lame!" She said as Joey smiled.

"What's wrong Tea? To sexual for you?" Joey asked.

"Oh yeah Joey!" Tea exclaimed as she sighed. "I must resist temptation!" She said sarcastically.

"That's the spirit, I'm glad you got that out in the open." Joey said as she rolled her eyes.

After a brief silence, Yami looked at the three. "Wanna go to the Game Shop?" 

"Sure." They all replied in unison as they turned the corner and headed for the Game Shop. 

__

"Fun, fun!" Tea said to herself as they passed Duke's shop. 

__

~To be continued.......~

Sorry for the wait. I broke my foot four days ago and couldn't make it downstairs to type the rest of this chapter. Well, I hope you guys liked it. Please stick by me! I know this sounds like a Duke/Tea, but it's not. She is just trying to get over Duke and move on. Anyway, again, thanks for reviewing!!!!!!

Jelly


	3. Breaking out the Seams

Disclaimer: Do not own the show, the characters, or YGO merchandise. If I did the world would be a better place now. (Just kidding.)

__

Italic : means that the person is thinking to him or herself.

P.S.- Italic is for a song too.

To Reader: I just wanted to say that I am sorry for the long wait. It's been a bad two weeks. *Looks up at the sky* Why have you forsaken me!? Oh...sorry about that. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!!!!

Chapter Three: _Breaking out the Seam_

"I switch my Dark Magician to attack mode and use my magic card, Raigeki, to destroy your monsters on the field." Yami said nonchalantly. "Now my Dark Magician can attack directly at your life points." 

"No! The rest of my life points!" Joey exclaimed as he hung his head in defeat. 

Mai sighed heavily as she watched Joey's face sadden from the loss. She actually felt sorry for the blonde. It seemed that the higher Joey rose to victory, the harder he fell in defeat. She sighed again and looked over to Tea, who was looking out the window at Duke's shop. She couldn't believe that Tea actually still had feelings for Duke. In her opinion, she didn't even know that Tea _liked_ the weirdo. 

That's when Tea turned around and looked at Mai. She looked miserable. Mai tried to crack a smile at Tea, but her lips were frozen. Tea smiled at Mai's attempt and asked, "How's the duel?" 

"Huh? Do you even have to ask?" Mai replied, trying to put some humor in her response. 

Tea smiled and looked over at Joey and Yami carefully. She knew, from the looks of it, that Joey lost. She heaved a sigh of sympathy and walked over toward Joey. "Nice duel." She said softy. {Yes, she's a good liar too.} 

"Yeah." Joey replied as Tea put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Don't worry Joey, it wasn't a total loss." Yami reasoned. "I almost couldn't beat you this time." 

Joey smiled and gave a thumbs-up sign. "Watch out next time, you may not be so lucky." 

"I'm looking forward to it." Yami said as he folded his arms. 

Joey was about to say something when Serenity walked in. She looked pretty upset. Automatically, Joey stood up and asked, "What's wrong?" {A/N: It's a brotherly thing.}

"I was off my game today." She said as she pulled up a chair next to Joey. 

"At least we have something in common." Joey said as she gave him a puzzled look. 

__

~Later~

Tea yawned softly as she finished the rest of her homework. After closing her book and returning it to her bag, she looked around to see what the time was. 

"It's seven o'clock." Yugi's grandfather said instinctively. 

"Thank you." Tea said as she stood up and grabbed her bag. "I should get going." 

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" He asked from the kitchen. 

"No, my parents are probably waiting for me." Tea lied. 

__

'Or I'll be waiting for them......' 

As Tea reached for the door, Tristan quickly asked her to wait for him. She turned around to see the brown-haired boy stuff papers in his backpack to catch up to her. She sighed and put her hand on her hip. 

"Hold on, I'm coming." He said as he walked up to her. 

"Ready?" Tea asked as he nodded. 

"Bye guys!" Tristan said as he held the door open for Tea. 

"See you tomorrow." Joey said as they left the Game Shop. 

As they started walking down the street, Tristan looked over to Tea with curiosity. 

"So....did you have fun?" He asked as she glanced at him. 

"Sort of..." Tea said as they turned the corner. 

__

'Is he following me or something?' Tea asked as she saw Duke walking down the same block as them.

He wasn't alone though. From what she could see, a blonde-haired girl was wrapped around his arm. She clenched her teeth together, cursing the day she had ever met Duke. As Tristan spotted Duke coming toward them, he looked down at Tea. 

"Stay strong...." He whispered. 

Tea gave him a confused look. _'I swear it's a conspiracy against me.' _

As she neared the creator of Dice Monsters, her stomach began to turn. She felt that as her heart was telling her to stay calm, her head was telling her to..... _"RUN!" _

That's when she heard the voice that she grew to love. 

__

'...........and then hate.'

"It's a true story....." Duke said to the young blonde.

"You're so funny Duke!" Tea heard the blonde exclaim. 

__

'Oh...you'll find out how funny he CAN be....' Tea said as she rolled her eyes. 

"Oh, what do we have here?" Duke asked as he stopped in front of Tristan and her. 

"How can I help you, Duke?" Tristan asked as he stepped in front of Tea. 

"You can't, but maybe Tea can...." Duke said as Tristan tightened his fists. 

"Oh really? Well.....she can't help you either." Tristan said as he walked away from Duke with Tea. 

"Why don't you let her speak for herself." Duke asked from behind them. 

Tristan turned around and glared at Duke. 

"Maybe because Tea doesn't speak to trash." Tristan said. 

This remark made Duke's eyes flicker with odium. He walked forward and stared at Tristan. 

"You want some of this, punk?" Duke asked with a "gangsta" accent. 

"Actually, no." Tristan said as Tea tried to hide a smile. 

"....what are you smiling at?" Duke asked as he turned to Tea. 

"Oh-" She was cut off by Tristan. 

"Lets just say that she is picturing me kicking your a##." Tristan replied. 

"Is that a dare?" Duke asked heatedly.

"....more like a challenge to you..." Tristan said. 

That's when Duke threw the first punch. The blow hit Tristan's right cheek. Tristan backed away and held his cheek. Tea looked at both of them with shock. 

"Stop it!" She yelled as she forced herself between them. 

"No way that midget gets away with hitting me!" Tristan yelled as he tried to move Tea out of the way.

"No, Tristan!" Tea said as she looked at him. "You're no better than he is if you do punch him." 

Tristan glanced at Tea and then back at Duke. He sighed heavily and put his fists down. Tea swallowed hard and looked at Duke, who looked over to her. "What the heck is your problem?" 

"He was asking for it." Duke responded as Tea glared at him. 

"As were you if I let him go." Tea said as he looked at her. 

"Sure." He said as he rubbed the fist that he hit Tristan with. 

"Come on Tristan, lets go." Tea said softly. 

"Wait! We're not done yet." Duke said as she looked at him. 

"Believe me, we are." Tea said as he walked forward. 

"I need to talk to you...." He said as she rolled her eyes. 

"Not now." She said as she turned away from him. 

"Tea..." He said as she held back her anger. 

"What? What do you possibly want to tell me at a time like this?" She asked calmly. 

He looked at Tristan and then the blonde. "I can't tell you in front of them." 

"Then don't tell me at all." Tea said as she tugged on Tristan's sleeve, as a signal to leave. 

"I still love you....." Duke spat out. "I always will." 

Tea bit her lip and turned around again to meet his emerald eyes. 

"I _loved _you, Duke." She said softly. "But after today.....I'm through with you." 

"I can change." He said, avoiding Tristan's glare. 

Tea looked at his look of plea. She couldn't give in, not to him. 

__

'No, he can't change. He just wants to use you again.' 

"I'm sorry Duke, but changing is not enough for a person like you." She said coldly. 

With that, she turned and walked away with Tristan. As they passed the next block, Tristan clapped his hands together. She looked at him and smiled. 

"You really impressed me today." He said as she blushed. 

"I impressed myself." She said as he smiled and walked her to her door. 

"See you tomorrow," he said as he flashed her a smile. 

"Alright." She said as she watched him go. "Oh, Tristan!" 

He turned around and looked at her. 

"Thanks." She said. 

"What for?" He asked as she put her hands on her hips. 

"For today." She said as he shrugged his shoulders. 

"It was nothing." He said as he waved at her. "Besides, what are friends for?" 

She smiled and waved back. 

__

'They're for kicking the crap out of annoying ex-boyfriends, if you ask me.' 

She chuckled and walked into her house. 

__

~To be continued......~

Yes, I know that was stupid. This chappie really had no storyline whatsoever. I just wanted to show you that Tea is over Duke and ready to move on (To Yami.) Sorry about this.....I feel really bad for posting a bad chapter, especially when you have been waiting so long. 

__


	4. Overcoming Loneliness

Disclaimer: Do not own the show, the characters, or YGO merchandise. If I did the world would be a better place now. (Just kidding.)

__

Italic : means that the person is thinking to him or herself.

P.S.- Italic is for a song too.

To Reader: Sorry for the MAJOR delay!!! Again, thanks for reviews!!! BTW, this chapter is going to be kinda sad because it's sort of in Yami's perspective instead of Tea's line of thinking. Ohhh...and I also wanted to make a couple of points before I begin.............

~No Duke/Tea, Serenity/Yami, or Tristan/Tea ending in this fic. 

~I'm not sure if I still want to put Seto Kaiba in this story, if I do...he will be portrayed as a nice dude. 

~Everybody was Kung-Fu fighting! WAAAH! Those cats were fast as lightning....ohh...sorry!! 

Chapter Four: _Overcoming Loneliness_

'Heaven is with you, hell is without you.....' 

Yami closed his eyes tightly, trying to hold back his thoughts of Serenity. He couldn't understand why she left him. He knew that going to live with her mother wasn't the real reason. It was just an excuse. 

__

'An excuse to get away from me....'

Yami sighed sadly and rolled over on his back. As he examined his pale-white ceiling, the thoughts of her delicate brown hair, her soft green eyes, and her smooth white skin would not obliterate from his mind. He sighed again and sat up, only to meet the eyes of his roommate, Yugi Moto. 

"Why aren't you ready for school?" Yugi asked as he slid his backpack onto his shoulder. 

Yami shook his head slowly and responded, "I'm not going."

At this remark, Yugi's eyes sprang open. He couldn't believe the loss of Serenity would put him in a mental slump. Yugi walked forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "It was for the best." 

"No." Yami answered as he put his head back on the pillow. "You don't understand." 

"What don't I understand?" Yugi asked as he put his hands on his hips. {A/N: Yes, I know it's not a typical guy thing....sorry!!!!! *_*}

"Serenity was my first love....." Yami answered slowly. 

"....and probably not your only.." Yugi butted in as Yami shook his head. 

"I experienced true happiness and love for the first time with Serenity," Yami added, "it was not like in ancient Egypt where you were forced to select a woman you never knew....or never get to know." 

"I'm sorry." Yugi lamented as Yami smiled weakly, trying to lighten up the mood. 

"Don't be.....it's not your fault." Yami said as he looked at his watch. "You're going to be late." 

"_We're_ going to be late..." Yugi said as Yami sighed. 

"Not today Yugi, please forgive me." Yami said as Yugi nodded sympathetically. 

"You're forgiven." Yugi said as he touched Yami's hand and made his way out the door. 

"Thank you." Yami whispered as he looked out the window at Yugi's hasty movements out the Game Shop toward the school building. He smiled at Yugi's clumsiness. 

He sighed as thoughts of Serenity re-flooded his mind. _'Why now?' _

****

*Flashback Mode: Yesterday*

"Why now?" Yami asked Serenity as she looked down at the ground. "Why are you leaving?" 

"I must tend to my sick Mother." She said as tears started forming on her eyelids. 

"When are you leaving?" Yami asked as she looked up at him. 

"Tonight." She said as Yami gasped. 

"Tonight?" She nodded slowly. "What about...._us_?" 

Yami's voice went from a sense of calmness to utter terror. He felt like his throat was closing up on him. He couldn't speak or really embellish the anger that was inside of him right now. Why hadn't she told him sooner?

"You are making this more difficult than it already is Yami." Serenity said.

"How so?" Yami asked as he folded his arms in an angry gesture. 

"Our relationship is like a roller coaster, Yami," Serenity looked away, "and I want the ride to stop." 

Yami's heart shattered. It was worse than seeing his friends under mind control in Battle City. 

"We're breaking up?" Yami asked as she looked back into his violet eyes. 

"Yes." She said as she took off the ring that he bought her for Christmas. "Yes." She repeated as she handed him the ring and turned away from him. 

Yami looked at the ring and then back at Serenity with a sense of confusion in his eyes.

"You can't just give up on us." Yami stated as she turned around slightly. "What we have is special." 

"What we had _was _special." Serenity corrected as Yami clutched the ring in his hand. 

"Please Serenity....." Yami said as he looked down at the ring. "I love-" 

"Don't," she interrupted, "I made up my mind." 

"But, I really do love you.....that will never change." Yami said. 

Serenity gave him a pleading look. He looked away, feeling betrayed.

"Listen Yami, you're what any woman would want in a man.....you're smart, talented, and handsome...." Serenity said softly. "Please...share your blessing with someone who.....loves you back."

Yami felt like he was on the verge of tears. He had to stay strong. For BOTH their sakes. 

"If that's how it's going to be.....I will respect your decision." Yami spat out sadly. 

Serenity smiled sadly and walked over to him slowly. "Take care." 

"You too." Yami forced out as she kissed his cheek one last time. 

Serenity smiled and started walking away slowly. 

"I'll keep your Mother in my prayers." Yami said softly as she turned around. 

"Thank you." She said. 

****

*End Flashback Mode*

__

'She has moved on....' Yami thought to himself. 'I need to do the same.'

~At Tea's House~

"Come on Tristan," Tea added hesitantly, "maybe if you studied for tests they wouldn't be so hard!"

Tristan rolled his eyes and opened the front door to her house. Tea followed, sliding her backpack onto her shoulder. As they walked outside into the midst of spring, Tea admired the cool breeze that swept past them. She sighed heavenly and turned around to lock the front door to her house. Once she did so, she turned around to see Tristan waiting patiently for her. She smiled and signaled him to move along. He did as told and walked forward toward a large building that every student feared. School. 

"I wonder what is awaiting us today....." Tea said sarcastically as Tristan turned toward her. 

"I know!" He said excitedly. 

Before he could answer, Tea gave him a comical expression and inquired, "detention?"

"Better than that!" Tristan said enthusiastically. "All-girls track meeting today!"

Tea sighed and hastened her pace from the young pervert. She slowed down when she heard a familiar voice call her name. She looked on ahead to see her childhood friend, Yugi. 

"Good morning to you," Yugi said as Tea smiled and waved to them. 

"Hello, long time no see." She said dryly as Tristan caught up to her. 

"Hey Yugi, where's Yami?" Tristan asked as Yugi frowned. 

"Oh he's....sick." Yugi replied quickly.

"That's weird, Yami's never sick." Tristan commented as he stroked his chin with his fingers. 

Tea shrugged her shoulders and said, "there's a first time for everything....." 

Yugi smiled and walked into the school, holding the door for Tea and Tristan. They followed shortly and walked down the hallway to their lockers in a rapid pace, knowing that detention would whisper in their ears if they were late. After Tea grabbed the rest of her books, she looked at the other two boys. They all smiled and ran down the hallway toward their homeroom. Once they reached their room, the bell sounded loudly. They all crammed in the room, only to receive awkward glances from their fellow students. Tea, Yugi, and Tristan smiled all the way to their seats.....knowing that it was just like old times. 

__

~During English Class~

"Alright class, as usual, we will begin the day with a journal entry. please get started on that now."

Tea's eyes broke away from the teacher once she finished her lecture. Tea sighed and opened her notebook to a clean page. She put her pen to the paper, hoping that an idea would come to her. One did. 

Friday.

Definition: Heaven

Ask any student nowadays. Friday is a day to relax and allow the week-end that followed to wash you away from all your troubles, like school and....school. Why can't everyday be Friday, you ask? The answer is quite simple. Adults are evil. Period.

Tea chuckled softly at what she wrote. She didn't know why she wrote it, she just thought it was a change from all her other entries. As she flipped back at the other pages, she grew angry. They were all about Duke. Tea slowly whispered a few inappropriate words and closed the book slowly, awaiting the teacher to continue her lesson. 

__

~After School~

"TEA!" Yugi yelled as he walked ran toward her. 

"Yugi? What's the matter?" Tea asked as Yugi handed her a stack of books. 

"Do you mind bringing these to the Game Shop for Yami?" He asked. 

"Sure, but why can't-" 

"I have to tutor someone in French," Yugi continued, "I won't be home until 6...." 

Tea nodded and said, "no problem.....have fun." 

"Thank you so much, Tea." Yugi said as Tea smiled innocently. 

He waved a goodbye and ran back into the school. Tea sighed and made her way to the Game Shop accompanied by a stack of books as tall as Yugi's hair. She smiled at the thought and made her way to a brown building, also known as the Game Shop. She took a deep breath and entered quietly to find Grandpa at the counter, beaming his genuine smile.

"Good Afternoon, Mr. Moto." She said politely as Grandpa smiled. 

"Hello Tea, nice to see you again." He said as Tea smiled. 

"You too," she added in slowly, "have you seen Yami?" 

Grandpa pointed a finger toward the upstairs. 

"Thanks," she said as she walked up the stairs toward his room. 

As she made it toward a small door, she knocked twice. After hearing a muffled noise she decided to enter the room. As she entered she saw Yami's back toward her. He was facing the window, holding a gold ring in his hand. Tea walked forward, but stopped once she heard him speak. 

"How was school Yu-" He turned around to see Tea standing there. "Tea?" 

__

~To be continued.......~

Sorry I stopped it here!! Don't worry....I'm hoping that the next chappie will be up Thursday or Friday. Again, sorry for the delay....and thank you for being patient. 

Jellybob 15

__


	5. Catch My Fall

Disclaimer: Do not own the show, the characters, or YGO merchandise. If I did the world would be a better place now. (Just kidding.)

__

Italic : means that the person is thinking to him or herself.

P.S.- Italic is for a song too.

To Reader: Yes, I know this was supposed to be put up on Friday.......sue me! Or sue my darn school! I mean, the nerve of them to suppress me with lab reports, DBQ essays, and posters! -____-

Chapter Five: _Catch My Fall _

"Tea?" 

Yami looked at her with a shocked expression. 

"Sorry to bother you," she continued hastily, "Yugi told me to drop these off." 

"No....it's okay." Yami said as he sat on his bed. 

"You look better." Tea said as he looked up, puzzled indeed. 

"Better?" Yami said as Tea hid a smile. 

"I knew it....." She whispered. "Yugi told us that you were sick in school, but...." 

She stopped. She didn't want to continue, because she knew it would renew his heartache. 

"What were you going to say?" 

Tea sighed and said, "you're sulking over Serenity, aren't you?" 

"I wouldn't call it sulking." Yami said as he looked at the gold ring still in his hand. 

Tea smiled to herself and sat across from him. 

"You wanna talk about it?" She said softly. 

"You wouldn't understand, you never lost somebody you....." He frowned. "I'm sorry." 

"It's okay," Tea said as she looked down at the floorboard. "I'm over it." 

"How...." He swallowed hard. "How did you cope with your break-up?" 

"It wasn't easy." Tea said as she looked into his eyes. "Not at all." 

Yami nodded in agreement. "How did you feel?" 

"Lost." 

Yami looked up at her, not expecting an answer like that. 

"But.....my friends drew a path back to my life." She smiled. 

He closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, friends." 

A silence surpassed between them. That is, until, Yami stood up and walked to the window. 

"Tea?" He asked as she cocked an eyebrow up. 

"Huh?" 

"Do you miss Duke?" He turned to look at her. "Is he still in your heart?" 

"No." Tea said as she shook her head. "I don't leave my heart open to somebody who doesn't love me." 

Yami looked at her. That statement spoke volumes about his relationship with Serenity. To summarize it, his relationship with Serenity was meaningless. It WAS like an Egyptian marriage when he was Pharaoh. Why? Because Serenity didn't love him the way that he loved her. And, if he didn't have her love...then there was just no chemistry. No love. Tea was right. Don't leave your heart open to somebody who will never be yours romantically. Open your heart to a person who cares about you and your needs. 

"Yami?" Tea asked. "Are you there?" 

Yami shook his head and looked at her. 

"Yeah, I'm still here." He answered. 

He looked at the ring in his hand. 

"Was that hers?" Tea asked as she stood up and walked over to him. 

"Yeah." He said as he walked over to his dresser and dropped it into one of the drawers. 

He slowly looked up from the dresser. 

"Was...." He said as he sat back on his bed. 

"Still thinking about her?" 

He smiled. 

"Actually...yeah." He paused. "Because I don't know what to do with the things she left here."

Tea burst out laughing. He joined in, feeling much more down to earth than a couple of minutes ago. 

"I needed that." Tea said as she stopped laughing. 

"Yami nodded, saying, "me too." 

"You must be feeling better......" Tea said. 

"Much better." He looked at her. "Thank you." 

Tea smiled. "You're welcome." 

That's when Yami's stomach started growling. He blushed and held his stomach. 

"I didn't eat anything the whole day," he said innocently. 

"Well then come on!" Tea said as she pulled him downstairs. 

As they walked toward the kitchen, Grandpa looked at the two from the living room. 

__

'A match made in heaven....those two.' 

Meanwhile, Tea made Yami a sandwich. As she did so, she carried on about how he shouldn't starve himself because it isn't healthy....even when the situation involves a major break-up. 

"........so don't do it again!" Tea shouted as they walked into the living room. 

Grandpa smiled and moved over to let them sit. 

__

'They really do look cute together.' 

"EAT IT YAMI!" 

Grandpa shook out of his thoughts and looked at the two. 

"I don't like mayonnaise though." He said as she grew angry. 

"Tough." 

"EH!" Yami said as she smiled. "What happened to the 'voice of reason'....?" 

"Sorry....can't hear you!" Tea lied as she cupped her ear. 

"You really aren't the person I thought you were." Yami said as Tea looked at him. 

"What do you mean?" Tea asked as he started eating the sandwich she made for him. 

"Well, you are not quiet.....you're not too soft....and.....you do get angry." 

"Thanks for noticing all this now." Tea said as he smiled. 

"Well, we don't hang out that much." He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe we should." 

Tea was taken back at that statement. "Seriously?" 

"Yeah, why not?" He asked as she tilted her head a little bit. 

"Ohhh....no reason." 

__

'Besides that I am a loser....and you usually hang out with the popular people.....no reason at all' 

Grandpa looked at the two. He shook his head to himself. 

__

'They really should get together....maybe I should invite her to our family barbeque.' 

"Excuse me, Miss Gardner?" 

"Yes?" 

"Would you like to come to our family barbeque on Sunday?" 

Yami looked at him oddly, Grandpa ignored his expression. 

"Sure.....are you sure it's okay?" She chuckled. "I mean didn't you say a _family _barbeque?" 

"Ohhh...it's perfectly fine." He said as she nodded.

"Alright then." 

"Good." He said as he left the room. 

As soon as he left the room, Tea looked over to Yami. "Well, that was weird..huh?" 

"Yeah." He shrugged it off. "Well you already now that he is weird...so this is nothing out of the ordinary." 

Tea nodded and looked at the clock. It was ten minutes to five. 

"Wow.....I didn't know this much time passed." She stood up. "I better get home." 

"Alright then." He said as he stood up as well. 

"I guess I'll see you on Sunday." She said as he smiled. "It's hosted here, right?" 

"Yeah." He said as they made their way toward the door. 

"Okay." She said. "I want to see a smile on that face when I arrive there on Sunday." 

He chuckled as she opened the door, only to reveal an unexpected face. Yami gasped. 

"Serenity?" 

__

~To be continued.......~

Another cliffie! Was that rushed? Did you think that Yami and Tea were TOO close? If you liked it just the way it is...then stay tuned for the next chapter. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Jellybob 15

__


	6. Forever Young

Disclaimer: Do not own the show, the characters, or YGO merchandise. If I did the world would be a better place now. (Just kidding.)

__

Italic : means that the person is thinking to him or herself.

P.S.- Italic is for a song too.

To Reader: I just loved the reviews you placed for this story. Sorry about the deadly cliffhanger I left, I just do it to keep the reader in tune with the story. I think you will be very pleased with this chapter, considering that Yami and Tea grow a little closer and Serenity will soon become a thing of the past. Enjoy!

Chapter Six: _Forever Young_

"Serenity........"

Yami's sudden silence struck Tea. She knew he still had some feelings for the young Wheeler, but the emotion in his voice made it seem like he was not over her. Tea shuddered at the thought. It only reminded her of the way she used to be with Duke. She shook out all the thoughts that were rushing through her mind and focused on the situation between the three of them. 

__

'Come on Tea, it's only getting worse by the minute....maybe you-' 

"Hello Yami," Serenity continued hastily, "if I am interrupting anything....I will go-" 

"No." Tea spat out. 

__

'Great Tea, like that wasn't obvious enough!' 

"I mean," Tea swallowed hard, "you caught Yami at a good time, he just finished his Earth Science tutoring with me." 

__

'....and the Academy Award for outstanding actress goes to Tea Gardner for her exceptional performance, bravo Tea!'

"Yes, would you like to come in?" Yami asked coolly. 

"No, I'm not staying long," Serenity continued, "I just wanted to know if my brother is here, is he?" 

"Not at this moment." Yami said as he folded his arms. 

Serenity sighed softly and pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. Tea looked at the two and decided to give them their privacy, knowing that it was the best thing to do. 

"Do you have any clue to where he may be?" She asked as he closed his eyes for a second. 

"I would try Tristan's house." Yami stated as she nodded in agreement. 

"Thank you," she waved warmly, "have a nice day-" 

"You can use my phone to call Tristan, I mean, so you don't have to walk all the way there for nothing." 

She smiled at Yami's statement, but declined. "I enjoy the walk." 

"Alright then," he said softly. "Ohh...by the way, how's your Mother?" 

"She's feeling better, thanks for asking." She said as his smile widened. 

"Well, I should be off." She said as she turned around and walked away from the Game Shop. 

Yami closed the door shut, and leaned against it. As he closed his eyes to reflect on the situation that just occurred, he felt that somebody else was in the room. He opened his eyes to see Tea standing there with her arms folded. He smiled and walked up to her. 

"Tea....what you did out there...." He said as he touched her hand. "Thank you." 

"Forget about it." Tea said as she held his hand in hers for a couple of seconds. 

"Hey....I'm home!" 

Tea and Yami both looked over to the doorway to see Yugi standing there with a charming smile planted on his lips. Yami dropped Tea's hand quickly and put his hands behind his back like if nothing happened. 

"Hi Tea, I didn't expect you to still be here..." Yugi said as he dropped his bag on the couch. 

"Ohhh.h...I was just helping...Yami with something..." Tea said conspicuously as she headed for the door. 

"Yeah, thanks again..." Yami said as she smiled and left the Game Shop. 

He sighed softly and sat down on the couch. Yugi copied his actions. 

"So....how's Mr. Ladies Man?" Yami blushed at this statement. 

"Lets just say he's lady-less." Yugi laughed quietly at Yami's assertion. 

"Don't worry Yami, I'm sure things will start looking up...." Yugi reasoned as Yami sighed. 

"We'll see." He said as Yugi smiled. 

"Well, things must be looking up....I mean....you and Tea seemed pretty close before I arrived." Yugi said. 

Yami cleared his throat and shook his head, "we're just friends."

Yugi didn't respond. He only gave Yami a sympathetic look and changed the subject. 

"Still not over Serenity, huh?" He asked as Yami perked his head up. 

"I am..." Yami started as Yugi cocked an eyebrow up. "Ohh..give me a break..healing takes time." 

"Oh...so now we turned into Mr. Sensitive now?" Yugi asked as Yami rolled his eyes.

"Very funny, I'll just have you know...it's not as easy as it looks." Yami said sadly. 

"From the way you moved on to Tea...I'll say it's pretty easy...." Yugi smiled. 

"Yugi, I'm giving you to the count of three to get as far away from me as possible...." 

Yugi's eyes flashed with fear at the King of Games. He soon stood from the couch and started running. 

"One..." Yami said slowly. 

He was about to move onto the next number when Yugi popped his head into the room and said, "is the loneliest number..." {A/N: Very good song....if anyone knows it.... ^_^}

Yami clenched his teeth and continued. "Two..." 

Yugi remained where he was and said, "surprised you can count that high!" 

Yami looked at Yugi and stood up. Yugi backed away slowly. "THREE!" 

"AHHHH!" Yugi exclaimed as Yami jumped over the couch and sprinted toward him. 

"You can run, but you can't hide!" Yami shouted as he ran after his short adversary. 

__

~Sunday~

Friday and Saturday went by quickly for Tea Gardner. It was most likely the homework from school that kept her busy for the two days. Then, came Sunday. She loved Sundays. They were full of relaxing and sleeping in. But, this Sunday was different. She actually had something to look forward to today. Mr. Moto's barbeque. She smiled at the thought and opened her closet to look for something to wear. 

__

'Hmmmm...it's just a barbeque...I don't wanna be too fancy...' 

Tea looked through her wardrobe until she found a nice white shirt. The sleeves came up to her elbows. She was about to put it on, but then she stopped and looked at the shirt. 

__

'Hold on....this is a barbeque.....what do you think is going to happen to that white shirt?' 

Tea sighed and put it back on the hanger, only to look for another shirt. That's when she spotted a black tanktop with silver sparkles embedded on the shirt. 

__

'Ohh...Tea's daring today!' 

She ignored her conscience and grabbed a pair of jeans to go with the shirt. 

__

'Hmmm...not bad...'

Tea said once she put on her shirt and jeans. Soon, she put her hair up in a ponytail and looked back into the mirror. She smiled, liking the way some strands of her hair stuck out from the ponytail. As she added a little eyeshadow to her eyelids, she looked back into the mirror and did some model poses to check herself out. {A/N: I do that too!! ^_^ Don't laugh, I'm sure you did it once in your lifetime!}

__

'I wonder if Yami will like my-' 

She stopped and hit the rewind button. 

__

'Yami? Why should you be worried about the way he looks at you?' 

Tea sighed and shrugged her shoulders, not giving it a second thought. 

__

'Alright, I'm ready to go...'

Tea thought as she put her sneakers on. She grabbed her keys and headed for the door, only to stop once she touched the doorknob. _'I should leave a note for my parents....' _She groaned and turned around to find a pen and a piece of paper to write out a little note for her parents.

__

~MEANWHILE~

*DING-DONG*

Yugi rose from the couch to answer the door. As he opened the door he smiled at the two people that stood in front of him. One had a pot-belly with grayish-black hair, while the other one was skinny and very tall with brown hair and violet eyes. She smiled down at Yugi and pinched his cheek. 

"Hello Aunt Sal and Uncle Bob," Yugi said as he hugged his two relatives. 

"Ohhh...Yugi...you've grown up so much!" His Aunt exclaimed while his Uncle laughed. 

"Really Sal? He looks the same height as before!" Yugi blushed at this statement. 

"BOB!" His Aunt exclaimed as Yugi cleared his throat and looked at the two. 

"Umm...my Grandpa is in the back.." Yugi said as they both walked toward the back. 

He followed the two until he spotted Yami sitting on the couch, watching an old Western movie. 

"Aren't you gonna join us?" Yugi asked as Yami looked up. 

"I don't like barbeques..." Yami stated as Yugi rolled his eyes. 

"You don't like anything!" Yugi said as Yami looked up and smiled. 

"So?" He said as Yugi pulled him to his feet. 

"Come on!" Yugi exclaimed. "Today is going to be a fun day." 

"Alright, I'll join your little get-together." Yami said as they heard the doorbell ring again. 

"Your turn!" Yugi said as he ran to the backyard. 

"Wait! I don't wanna.." He sighed and walked toward the door. 

He opened the door to see Tea. _'Wow...she's looking good...'_

"Hi!" Tea said as she stepped in. 

"Hello..." Yami said as they walked toward the backyard. 

"What's up?" She asked as he shrugged his shoulders. 

"Nothing much," he said as they entered the backyard to see family members dancing around and little kids clinging to their mothers. Tea smiled at the sight. 

"This looks interesting..." Tea said as Yami nodded.

"Very..." He said as Grandpa walked up to them. 

"Hello Ms. Gardner, I'm glad you could make it." He said politely. 

Tea smiled and shook his hand. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." 

He was about to say something when Aunt Sal interrupted him. 

"Ohhh Yami," she looked at Tea, "is this Serenity?" 

Yami blushed a little and looked at Tea. "No, this is Tea....Tea Gardner." 

"Ohhh...I see we have a gigolo in the family." {A/N: @_@}

Yami blushed even more, while Tea supressed a laugh. 

"No, it's not like that....we're just good friends." 

Aunt Sal smiled and said, "whatever you say...I just hope you keep this one, she looks like a nice girl." 

After Aunt Sal left, Yami looked at Tea. "Sorry about that, they get a little carried away." 

"Ohhh...don't worry," Tea smiled. "My family is worse." 

Yami smiled and headed for the food. Tea sighed and smiled when she spotted Yugi near the drinks. She walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Having fun?" She asked as he turned around. 

"Yeah," he said as he cocked an eyebrow up. "Not to be rude, but what brings you here?" 

She smiled and poured some Pepsi into a plastic cup, "your Grandpa invited me." 

"That's cool." He said as she smiled. 

"Yeah," she was about to continue when she spotted Yami being surrounded by little kids. 

"I wonder what's going on over there?" Yugi asked as they walked over. 

As they walked over, whining and pleading filled their ears. Tea was the first to laugh at this. 

"Please cousin Yami! Play tag with us!!" One little girl exclaimed. 

"Yeah, we need a leader!" Another girl exclaimed. 

"Well, I don't know." Yami said as he looked up to see Yugi and Tea laughing. 

"Oohhh...Yugi....you wanna play too?" A boy said as the little kids turned toward Yugi and Tea. 

"Sure, I don't mind." Yugi said as they started cheering. 

"What about you?" There heads turned toward Tea. 

"Sure, I'm in." Tea said, but then added, "as long as Yami plays.." 

Yami could banish Tea to the Shadow Realm for that remark. The little kids turned toward Yami again. One little girl even sat on his lap. "Pwweeease Yami!?" 

He looked at the child and sighed, "alright."  


That's when they all scattered around the yard and started chanting, "Yami's it! Yami's it!!" Even Tea and Yugi joined into the little chant. Tea could tell that Yami was pissed off at the moment. She only screamed it louder so he could hear her. He turned to her and smiled wickedly. She smiled and waved at him. He was about to run after her when he spotted the girl that sat in his lap running around the yard. 

"I got you!" He yelled as he tagged the little girl. 

"I'm it!! YAH!" She yelled as she ran after Yugi. 

After a couple of more little kids got tagged, the burden came back to Yami. He knew who he was running after this time, but he couldn't find her. That's when he heard a soft whisper in his ear. 

"Miss me?" Yami turned around to see Tea standing there. 

He smiled and tried to grab her, but she turned around and broke into a run. He smirked and ran after his prey, dodging the adults and kids that stood in his way. Soon, she was in his reach again and he tried to grab her before she reached the "safe spot" which was the tree near the fence. She turned around quickly, now running backward, and smiled at Yami. 

"Hurry up, Yami...I'm almost-" 

That's when she tripped on a stick and fell on her back. Yami watched this and was about to stop himself, but he couldn't. He fell forward on top of her. {A/N: I'm so evil!} They both looked at each other. Yami was blushing and Tea just started laughing. He moved up a bit, so he wouldn't crush her body any longer, and smiled at her. 

"Tag, you're it." 

__

~To be continued....~

How did you like it? I tried to make it a little longer from all my other chapters. I just loved the ending to this chapter. Don't you? Well, I hope I can continue this soon. ^_^ 

__ __ __ __


	7. Your typical Barbeque

Disclaimer: *look at other chappies* 

__

Italic : means that the person is thinking to him or herself.

To Reader: I just loved the last chapter! It was so....sweet! *sigh* The reviews I received for the last chapter were awesome! I really want to thank ALL of you for making this story possible. Go on! Give yourself a pat on the back! You deserve it! @_@ 

Some answers to the following questions I received;

****

Lemon in the story? No, I'm inexperienced when it comes to Lemons. Also, for some reason I think that Yami and Tea are pretty well off without the sex. Sorry people who wanted lemon! 

****

How old is Yugi in this story? Oops! Sorry I didn't put that in earlier chapters! He's seventeen like Yami and Tea. Serenity is sixteen. Joey is eighteen along with Tristan and Mai. Ummmm...the reason why you think Yugi is probably Yami's little brother is probably because I can't see Yugi as an adult. When I look at Yugi, he reminds me of a little kid. So....yeah...I hope this helped ya!!

If you have a question, leave it in the review....if you want to. Uhh....oh yeah....on to the story!!!

Chapter Seven: Your typical Barbeque

"Tag, you're it." 

__

'.....and how sweet it is to be **it**!'

Tea thought as she stared into the eyes of her captor. She never really noticed how vibrant his eyes were until now. The color, violet, really did give him a mysterious and noble look. She liked it. As she continued to look into his violet eyes, Yami had some thoughts of his own about Tea. 

__

'She's really pretty when she smiles like that.....'

Yami noted as he continued to look at Tea's features. He loved the way her eyes reminded him of an endless ocean, and the way her soft skin brushed against his. He even liked the way her hair glowed in the light. These features were indeed a privilege to look at. He blushed carelessly at his sudden blend of the thoughts about the Tea he knew for so long, but never really _knew. _

'Why is he staring at me like that?' 

Tea pondered as his light gaze at her features turned into a heavy stare. She looked away from his face to notice the provocative position they were in. She flushed with embarrassment at their current situation. Yami noticed this and grew confused at her actions, that is, until he became aware that he was on top of her. She was about to say something, until a little girl skipped over and said, 

"Hey! This is how my Mommy and Daddy made me!" 

Yami's eyes widened at the little girl's words. Hastily, he moved off of Tea and sat on the supple grass beside her. Tea, on the other hand, sat up and looked at the little girl with a flushed expression. 

"No, let me explain-" Tea was cut off by the little girl. 

"Don't worry, my Mommy told me ALL about it!" She said as she walked away. 

Tea watched the little girl walk away in awe. 

__

'Well, you know what they say.....kids say the darnest things!' 

Tea smiled weakly and looked over to Yami, who was brushing himself off. She cleared her throat purposely to reclaim his attention. He looked over to her with a blank expression. 

"I-" 

"You-" 

They both chuckled after speaking at the same time. Tea signaled him to proceed. 

"I'm sorry about what just happened," he said as she nodded her head. 

"Yeah, I think we were just caught in the moment." She said as he sighed. 

"Did you get hurt?" He said as she looked at her arms and legs. 

"Nah, all intact." She stated as he smiled. 

He was about to say something else when she reached over and brushed a piece of grass out of his hair. Her touch was so alluring that he wished he had some more grass in his hair. 

"Hey! Are we gonna play tag or what!?" 

A boy said as he walked over with a couple of his friends. 

"I'm definitely out!" Tea said as she stood up slowly. 

"Yeah, me too." Yami said as he shook himself out of his own fantasy. 

"Awwwww!" A couple of kids whined. 

Tea felt sorry for the little brats, but was in no position to continue their game. 

"I'm sorry.....maybe another time..." Tea said as they continued to plead with them. 

That's when Uncle Bob walked over. "Alright you little ones, go run off somewhere else!" 

They obeyed and ran off to find someone else to bother. Once they were out of sight, Uncle Bob looked at the two sympathetically. "Are you two hungry?" 

"A little," Tea said as Yami nodded. 

"Alright, there's food on the table for you two...." He said as Tea started to walk over. 

Yami started following, until UB stopped him. "Hey kid, are you two playing hard to get?" 

Yami blushed and said, "no.....we just....." 

"You don't have to answer that, son," he said as Yami sighed. "Your Aunt and I were the same way." 

As UB walked away, Yami thought about what he just said. Was he falling for Tea? It was hard to tell now, considering that he just broke off a relationship and was feeling vulnerable right about now. 

__

'Hmm.....I wonder how Tea feels about us?' 

~Meanwhile~

"Hello there Serenity," Aunt Sal said as Tea froze in her tracks. 

"Ummm...it's Tea..." Tea said as Aunt Sal glanced at her. 

"Ohhh..sorry hun!" She said as Tea sat down. "The memory is the first to go!" 

Tea smiled weakly as Aunt Sal sat next to her. 

"Ya know, you two remind me of Bob and I." Aunt Sal said as Tea looked at her. 

"Who? Yami and me?" Tea asked as Aunt Sal nodded. 

"Of course! We used to always fool with each other's minds when it came to love.....just like a pair of squirrels during mating season!" Aunt Sal said as Tea swallowed hard. 

"Well....like Yami said before.....we are just friends...." Tea answered as Aunt Sal sighed. 

"Do you actually believe that?" Aunt Sal said curiously. 

Tea didn't reply. 

"I thought so," she said as Yami came over with Uncle Bob. 

"Hello, young ladies." Uncle Bob said as Tea looked up at him. 

"Hello." She said as she looked down back at her food. 

Yami sat down, across from Tea, and took his plate without a word. As Tea went to go grab the ketchup, Yami had the same idea in mind. Their hands touched. Yami looked at their hands and gently pulled away. Tea, whose face reddened as well, kept her hand on the bottle until she realized what she was still doing. She shook her head softly and poured the contents of the bottle onto her sandwich. 

After they finished their dinner, Yami and Tea helped clean up the yard and then they both sat down to relax for a little bit. As they were sitting down, Yami tried to think of a conversation to bring up. 

"Hmmm....I wonder what happened to Yugi...." He said finally as Tea looked at him. 

"I heard that he went with Grandpa to go get ice." She said as he nodded. 

There was a silence again, that is, until they started hearing voices in the distance. 

"Hey guys, whatcha doing? 

Tea turned around to see a couple of little kids from before staring at Yami and her. She smiled weakly and said, "nothing....we're just hanging around." 

"Ohhh...so do you wanna play tag with us?" 

Tea and Yami both looked at each other, remembering what happened before. 

"No." They said in unison. 

"You'll be sorry," a little girl said as Tea and Yami looked at each other. 

"Uhhh..." Tea said as she saw a glint of plastic behind their backs. 

Tea looked over to Yami. "Yami...." 

"What's wrong?" He said as she started to get up slowly. 

"I think...we should-" Tea stopped when they all pulled out water guns. 

"Run!" Tea said as Yami and her ran toward the house. 

The kids started laughing at the two teens being sprayed. 

"Quick! In the house!" Yami said as she ran into the house.

He followed, but locked the door after him so they could not get in. 

He turned toward Tea, who was soaked. "There goes my shower tonight." 

Tea smiled and pulled her bow out to shake her hair. Yami stared at her with his mouth slightly open. He loved the way her hair clung to the side of her face like that. She put it back in a bow and looked at Yami. 

"Well, at least they can't get us in here." She said as Grandpa and Yugi walked in. 

"Hello you two!" Grandpa said as Yugi walked toward them. 

"Hey," he said as he looked at them comically. "What happened to you guys?" 

As he said this, he started walking past them toward the back. Tea was about to warn him, but Yami put one finger to his lips to silence her. "AHHHHHHHHH!" They heard as Yugi rushed back over. 

Tea and Yami started laughing uncontrollably at the soaked Yugi. 

"Wow, I never....thought this day would.....be so eventful!" Tea said in between giggles. 

Yami nodded and slowly stopped laughing. "Whoo.....that was funny." 

Tea smiled and put a couple of strands of hair behind her ear. She was about to add to Yami's comment when Aunt Sal and Uncle Bob walked in. They looked at the two. 

"Oh! Look at you two! Y'all better get out of those wet clothes before you get sick!" Aunt Sal exclaimed. 

Yami nodded at the two of them as they both walked off toward the kitchen. 

"Do you want some spare clothes?" He asked as she blushed.

"No....I can go home and change....it's really not that far." 

__

'Hmmm....speaking of home.....' 

"Oh geez.....I better get going..." Tea said as she put her hands on her hips. 

"I'll walk you home if you want..." Yami said as Tea smiled. 

"Thank you," she said as she walked toward the kitchen to say goodbye. 

After saying her goodbyes, they started walking toward her house in silence. As they turned the corner toward her house, Tea looked over toward Yami and smiled. 

"Thanks for bringing me home..." She said as Yami shrugged his shoulders. 

"No problem," he said as she walked up toward her door. 

"I guess I'll see you in school." Tea said as he nodded. 

__

'Yeah right, he'll probably forget about me by then!' 

"Yeah, see ya in school." He said as she unlocked her door. 

"Bye." She said as she walked into her house and closed the door. 

Yami sighed and walked away from her house, deep in thought about Tea. 

__

~Game Shop~

"Ohhh...so our little Romeo is home!" Aunt Sal said as Yami entered the GS. 

"Uhhh..." He said as Grandpa walked up to Yami and put a hand around his shoulders. 

"Alright you two, lay off him." Grandpa said as Yami started feeling relieved. 

But, Grandpa didn't stop there. 

".....he has to kiss her first to make it official." Yami fell over anime style. 

"You know what....I'm going to go up to my room...." Yami said as he started walking upstairs. 

"Alright dear, just tell me when the honeymoon is so I can make arrangements!" 

Yami sneered at them. He couldn't believe that they thought Tea and him were going out. As he walked into his room, he plopped on the bed and looked at the ceiling. 

__

'Who needs them? They don't know what I am feeling right now.' 

__

~To be continued....~

AH! Did anybody see YGO today? I think that is what inspired me to write this story. I just love how Joey and Tea get kidnapped and Yami has to save them. *sigh* 


	8. Reckless

Disclaimer: *look at other chappies* 

__

Italic : means that the person is thinking to him or herself.

A/N: Uhhhh....I forgot what I was going to say here. Oh well! Anyway, thanks again for the reviews you left. Oh and thanks to **Chibi Momoko **for bringing Mai's age to my attention. Yes, Mai is really supposed to be an old fart compared to the rest of the group, but since there might be some romance between Mai and Joey....I wanted her to be the same age as him. Sorry for not saying that before!!! **On with the story! **

Chapter Eight: Reckless 

__

*Honk!* 

Yami peeked through his blinds to see Joey's car parked in front of his house. He grabbed his backpack and slid down the banister to catch up to his impatient friend. He ran out of the house and into Joey's car that was also called the "chick-mobile." Joey smiled and high-fived his friend as a welcoming gesture. 

"What's crackin' my bro?" He asked as Yami cocked an eyebrow up. 

"Joey.....don't say that again." He said as he placed his backpack in the back. 

"Word." Joey said as Yami glared at him. 

Joey smiled at his accomplished attempt to make Yami upset. He sighed and looked toward the Moto house to notice that something was missing. "Hey....where's Yug?" 

"Ohhhh....he said he would catch up with us in school." Yami answered. 

Joey nodded and started driving toward the school. On their way there, Yami turned on the radio to hear what was on, but found one of Joey's Blink 182 cds playing. He was about to change it when Joey stopped him and said, "wait....this is my favorite song." Yami sighed and reclined in the leather-covered seat. 

__

She makes me feel like it's raining outside

And when the storms gone

I'm all torn up inside

I'm always nervous on days like this

Like the prom

I get to scared to move because 

I'm a stupid boy!

Joey sang out loud, while Yami ignored him and tried to listen to the words. He usually didn't like this artist, but for some reason....today.....they seemed to connect. The song made him think of one person that stole away his sleep last night. He sighed and looked out the window to see that particular person. Joey slowed down and paused the song to speak to Tea and Mai who were walking to school.

"Hey ladies...." Joey said as they turned around and frowned. 

"Hmmm....you know Joey.....I heard that this was the famous 'chick-mobile,' but I don't see any chicks in it." Mai said sarcastically as the two girls laughed at a flushed Joey. 

"Well....." Joey said as Mai sighed and continued to walk. 

"See ya later guys!" Tea said as she flashed a smile at Yami. 

"I'll show that Mai one day!" Joey said as he pushed the resume button on his system. 

__

Remember when I was in the grocery store

Now's my time!

Lost the words, lost the nerve, lost the girl

Left the line

I would wish upon a star but that star 

It doesn't shine 

So read my book, with a boring ending

A short story of a lonely guy......

Yami sighed as he watched Tea continue walking with Mai in the rear-view mirror until he could not see them anymore. He leaned back in the seat and listened to the song fade away shortly. As the song finally came to an end, they arrived in school. Yami thanked Joey for the ride once Joey parked in his usual spot, near the basketball court, and walked toward the school with Joey close behind. 

"Hey....why are you in a rush?" Joey asked once he caught up to Yami. "This is school, remember?" 

"I know, I was just looking for...." 

Yami looked at Joey and sighed. 

"...Yugi." Yami lied as they walked into the school. 

"He's probably around," Joey said as they walked to their lockers. 

Yami sighed and opened his locker, only to see pictures of Serenity. He hung his head and closed his locker. Joey looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey.....she's gone man." 

__

'If Joey only knew......' 

Yami thought as he sighed again and walked toward homeroom. Joey followed, wondering why Yami was taking this break-up so seriously. After catching up with him, Joey stopped him in the middle of the hall.

"Listen.....it was hard for me too......I mean....I'm losing her again." Joey said as Yami nodded.

"Yeah." Yami said as he rolled his eyes once Joey wasn't looking at him. 

{A/N: Don't think Yami cares for Serenity....it's just an act in front of Joey....because Yami doesn't want to tell him that he moved on to Tea that quickly. *_*} 

They were about to continue walking when a crowd of girls stopped them. Yami growled on the inside, but smiled warmly on the outside toward them. As the girls chatted about their cheerleading squad, Yami ignored them, while Joey listened attentively. That's when Yami saw Tea and Mai walking toward their homeroom. Tea stopped and waved, while Mai rolled her eyes and walked inside. 

__

'Still the same Yami.....' 

Tea thought as she walked inside the classroom and sat down next to Mai. Yami, on the other hand, was trying to get away from the crowd to talk to Tea, but found it useless. 

{A/N: Man, if Tea ONLY knew!} 

__

*Ring!* 

'Thank RA!' 

Yami thought as he ran with Joey to homeroom, so they wouldn't get a detention. 

__

~Lunchtime~

'Hmm....where to sit.....' 

Tea said to herself as she looked around the cafeteria. That's when she spotted Yami sitting next to his loud friends, including Joey. _'Ohhh well.....maybe next time....yeah...' _

She finally found a seat at an empty table. It was lonely, but better than sitting with people that only went by popularity status. As she was eating and reading a book that her English teacher assigned for the class, she heard a faint grunt. She looked up to see Duke.

__

'He's like an itch that won't go away!' 

"May I help you?" She asked as he did one of his trademark smirks. 

"No, but can you ever?" 

She closed her book and looked at him. 

"Seriously, what do you want?" Tea asked with an annoyed tone. 

"I got a proposition for you." He said as she frowned. 

Yami stopped talking to his friends to notice that Duke was bothering Tea. His blood started to boil. He was about to get up and say something when Tristan walked over to Tea. 

"Really Duke? Me too." Tristan made a fist. "Stay here and meet my fist or leave." 

Duke smiled and Tristan and cheerfully left Tea and Tristan alone. 

"Maybe I should just transfer to another school." Tea said to Tristan as he sat down next to her. 

"...and let him get the better of you?" Tristan said as Tea shrugged her shoulders. 

"I really don't care at this point." Tea said as he sighed. 

"Listen Tea, I'll take care of him." He said as she smiled and put a hand over his. 

"Don't....that's all we need is for you to go down with him." She said as she removed her hand. 

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He looked over to her lunch tray. "Hey, are you going to eat that?" 

Tea sighed and shook her head. "Take it." 

"Thanks." He said as she smiled and continued reading her book. 

"Hey Tea....watch this!" Tristan said as he put two straws in his nose and began sniffing his milk carton with them. "You should try it!" He said as he continued. 

"Uh.h...." Tea said, with disgust in her voice. "How about another time?" 

"Suit yourself." Tristan said as he pulled the straws out of his nose. 

"Yeah..." She said as he burped. 

"Nothing hits the spot like this stuff." Tristan said as Tea looked up from her book again. 

"Seriously Tristan, how do you have a girlfriend?" He shrugged his shoulders. 

"It's probably the facial hair growing in," Tristan added, "wanna guess how much I have now?" 

"No." Tea said, knowing she didn't want to play a round of "Guess my Facial Hair" today. 

"You're no fun." Tristan said as Tea grinned. 

"Believe me, you aren't the last one to say that."

Tristan looked up and started cracking up. 

__

'What was so funny?' 

Tea gave him a confused look, until he stopped laughing and looked at her. 

"Come on, Tea....think about my line...and then what you just said...." He said. 

Tea thought about it, but still didn't get it. That's when a light bulb appeared above her head. She smacked Tristan lightly, and started laughing herself. "You are such a perv!" 

"Am not!" Tristan said defensively. "You're the one that said it!" 

"You're the one that thought of it!" She said as they started laughing again. 

__

*Ring!*

"Oh Geez....was that the bell?" She asked as he nodded. 

"Yup." He said. 

"I got to get to class." She said as he smiled. 

"See you later." He said as she waved and left. 

{A/N: NO TRISTAN/TEA!!!!! I just like them joking around together.}

__

~After School~

"Hey Tea, want me to walk you home." Tristan said as Tea nodded, but looked around just in case Yami would want to do the same. She frowned when she didn't see him in sight. 

"Thanks Tristan," Tea said as they started walking. 

Soon, Yami came outside with Joey. As Yami started looking around for Tea, Joey stopped him and looked at him. Yami saw the serious look in his house and raised an eyebrow. 

"What's up?" Yami asked as Joey frowned. 

"We need to talk about Serenity." He said as Yami sighed. 

"What is there to talk about, like you said...she's gone." Yami replied. 

"Exactly, but why? I know my mother was sick...but we could have easily put her in a hospital with the money I had left over from what Yugi gave me during Duelist Kingdom." Joey said. 

"So...what are you saying?" Yami asked as Joey folded his arms. 

"Maybe you are responsible." He said as Yami gasped. 

"What? Joey....how could you think that!?" Yami exclaimed. 

"Well, come on! She left right after you two broke-up!" Joey exclaimed. 

"So? Maybe she really wanted to see her mother!" He cried. 

"Yeah right! Deny it all you want, but this is your fault!" Joey yelled. 

"I can't believe you are blaming me!" Yami said as he put his hand to his forehead. 

"You're the only one to blame AND now I lost my sister thanks to you!" Joey exclaimed. 

That's when students started looking over toward them, they didn't care. 

"Forget you!" Yami said as he started walking away. 

"Yeah, keep walking! Just like the coward you are!" Joey yelled. 

Yami turned around to object to that statement, but Joey was already near his car. Yami breathed in some air and started walking home, trying not to glance at Joey's car that sped by. Yami soon sat on a bench and thought about what just happened. He couldn't believe his best friend turned on him like that. As minutes turned into hours, he realized that Yugi and Grandpa would probably be worried about him. 

He stood up and started walking toward the Game Shop. As he walked in the Game Shop, he saw Grandpa look up from the phone and frown. Yami tried to ignore his glance. Grandpa hung up the phone and called his name. Yami walked up to him with a sad expression. 

"So....you heard the news?" Grandpa said as Yami cocked an eyebrow up. 

"What news?" He said as Grandpa cleared his throat and looked at him. 

"What happened?" Yami asked as Grandpa cleared his throat. 

"It's Joey." 

"What did he yell at somebody else on account of his sister?" Yami said sarcastically. 

Grandpa shook his head. "No." 

"Huh?" Yami said, awaiting the answer. 

"Joey got into a car accident with a truck." Grandpa said slowly. "His car flipped over a couple of times and now they don't know if he is going to live." 

"WHAT!?" Yami yelled as he looked at Grandpa. 

"Yeah." He said as he held back tears. "Yugi is down there already."

"I have to go!" Yami yelled as he ran out of the Game Shop frantically toward the hospital. 

__

'No Joey! This is all my fault!' 

Yami yelled to himself as he ran as fast as he could. Tears escaped his eyelids as thoughts of Joey entered his mind. The tears grew so heavy that they blurred his vision. He didn't care, as long as he got to see Joey. As he neared the hospital, he could see a couple of ambulance in front of the building. He ran past them and into the hospital, looking as if he was about to faint. 

__

'Hang on pal! I won't let you die!' 

~To be continued.......~

No Joey! *tear* That was a terrible ending....I mean....Joey....dying? That was unexpected. I hope to get another chappie up soon, but don't count on it because finals start soon....but I'll do what I can!

__


	9. Last Chance

Disclaimer: *look at other chappies*

__

Italic : means that the person is thinking to him or herself.

A/N: Sorry for the delay! My computer broke down for A LONG TIME! Ahhh...life's a beach. 

****

Chapter Nine: Last Chance 

Yami's head felt like it was spinning as he reached the Emergency Room. He figured that it was partly from his lack of breath, and the fact that his mind was cluttered with emotions of hurt, guilt, and remorse. As he placed his hand on the door, his shoulder was jerked back. He turned around to see a young man, wearing a doctor's uniform, give him a fixed stare. He opened his mouth to speak, but the doctor beat him to it. 

"I'm sorry, but you are not allowed in the ER." The man had a coarse voice that did not fit his young look. 

__

'Not allowed!? Not allowed!? But this was important! Joey needed him NOW!' 

"My best friend is in there, sir," he gave the doctor a pleading look, "I need to see him." 

The doctor was unaffected. "Again, you're not......." 

The rest of the doctor's words ran deaf to Yami as he felt a sharp pain in his chest. It was the same pain he felt when Yugi collapsed during the fight with Pegasus. He clutched his chest and propped his back against the wall so his legs would not give in under him. The doctor put a hand on his shoulder, but Yami was unaware of it. 

"I'm sure your friend-" He stopped. 

"Doctor....it's that young boy," said a woman as she appeared in the doorway, "his heart stopped." 

"What?" The doctor exclaimed as he disappeared into the ER, along with the nurse. 

Yami turned his head painfully toward the ER. _'Joey....' _

He closed his eyes tightly so he could remove the sight of the hospital from his mind, but this only led to salty tears of defeat. No. He could not give in. Not on himself, and definitely not on Joey. As he opened his eyes to enter the ER, the doors swung open abruptly. He stood back to let a stretcher and some doctors pass by. 

But wait.......

The stretcher had a body covered by a white sheet. 

It couldn't be.....

Yami's hands started to shake as he felt an unusual chill come from the stretcher. He swallowed hard and watched it go by slowly. His gaze broke off from the stretcher when he heard the ER doors swing open once more. He turned around to see the doctor from before remove his gloves desolately.

"It's a darn shame," he mumbled to himself as his brown eyes met Yami's violet ones. 

He nodded sympathetically and started to walk past Yami. 

"Wait....who was that?" 

The doctor turned around and stared at Yami. He was about to say something about "patient confidentiality" and other rules that he was supposed to obey in the hospital, but for some reason he wanted to tell Yami about the death of that young boy who fought so hard to live. 

"Jiro Umbridge," he paused, "nice young boy too...about your age." 

Yami's eyes widened with shock. It wasn't Joey. I mean, he was sorry about the young boy, but this just brought his spirits up a little bit. He looked at the doctor and decided to ask him about Joey. 

"Wheeler, you say? Yes, he checked in a couple of hours ago." He said as Yami's lip started to tremble. 

"Is he...okay?" Yami asked fearfully. 

The doctor put his hands in his pockets. "I believe that he has a minor concussion, but you would have to ask one of the nurses for more information on his condition." 

Yami started to breathe a little easier after this statement. But something still bothered him. Why did it feel like his bond with Joey was lost when he reached the ER? It felt like Joey was suffering.....or even dying. Why? 

"Well, you better get going...." He looked at Yami who looked like he was in a daze. 

"Oh yes," he cleared his throat, "do you have any idea where I can find-" 

"Try the Recovery Rooms." He answered quickly. 

"Thank you." 

With that, the doctor walked off and disappeared around the corner. Yami sighed and looked at the ER doors one more time before he left the area, in search of the Recovery center. As he looked at a plan of the hospital, he found that the Recovery rooms were on the other side. He walked quickly to the nearest elevator and pressed on the floor that he wanted. As the doors closed, he leaned against the wall of the elevator and thought of how Joey would react when he saw him. Would he be relieved or angry? 

__

'Please be the first one....' 

As he walked toward the Recovery center, he found Yugi looking through the hospital window that showed Joey sleeping soundly, with Mai by his bedside. Yami peered through the window then looked at Yugi. 

~Meanwhile~

"Ohhh...Joey.....why did this have to happen to somebody like you?" 

A tear slid down Mai's cheek as she watched a pale Joey lie on a hospital bed with tubes and bandages all over his bruised arms. As she ran her soft finger around his bruises, she could only hope that they did not hurt as bad as they looked. Another tear slid down her cheek, but this one hit Joey's arm. She wiped it away and watched him sleep peacefully on the hospital bed, unknown of his current condition. 

"I'm so sorry, Joey." She whimpered. "I just wish that there was something I could do..." 

__

'Go on a date with me....' 

His voice rang in her head. She smiled, but frowned again when she realized that she turned him down and called him a "loser." Now she wished she hadn't. She wished that she had given him the time of day and tried, at least, to be his _friend. _She sighed and remembered the time that he had told her that she needed someone to care for, excluding herself. She would always ignore him on the outside, but she was listening on the inside. 

His words really hit her. 

__

'But he never knew that I already had someone to care for....' 

She sighed and took hold of his hand that felt unusually cold. She grimaced and put her other hand around it so she could warm it up. As she continued this procedure, she thought she saw his eyelids move. She placed his hand down and whispered his name. He didn't answer. She sighed sadly. 

"Joey, please wake up soon." She bent down and kissed his cheek. "I need you." 

As she stood up to leave, she couldn't help but take another look at Joey. She wasn't used to seeing him this helpless. He was usually doing this on his own to make his independence known to everyone and he would stand up to anyone to help a friend out. Even if it meant risking his own life. As she walked toward the door, she thought she imagined Joey whispering her name. She shook her head, knowing that the nurses said that he would be out for a couple of more hours. But, then she heard it again. She turned around and....

"Joey..." She whispered. 

He was looking straight at her with one of his trademark smirks. She smiled and felt her stomach doing a trapeze act. She was so overwhelmed that she stood there and stared at Joey, until it was time to blink. As he tried to sit up, not taking his eyes off of her, his eyes started to fill with confusion at his surroundings. Where was he? 

"Mai....what happened?" He asked groggily. 

Mai gasped. "You....don't remember?" 

__

'Duh!? Why do you think he is asking you!?' 

"You were in a car accident with a truck," she said as his smile decreased, "after they pulled you out of your car...the doctors were unsure if you were going to live or not.....but you did." 

"Yeah, I remember being in-and-out when they were pulling me out of the car." 

She became teary-eyed. 

"Don't...ouch...cry..." He said as he tried to lift his hand to wipe her tears away. 

"Try not to....move that arm, the doctor....said you sprained it." She said, in between sobs. 

"Thanks for the warning," he said as he rubbed his arm with his other hand.

She flashed a smile. 

"Oh dear, I should tell the others that you are awake...." 

Joey coughed. "Wait..." 

She looked at him with a hint of confusion in her eyes. 

"I wanted to tell you that...." He pulled her closer to him. "You were the first thing I thought of when my car started to flip over. I thought that I would never see your beautiful face again." 

She was speechless. 

"I thought....I thought that I would never see you again either..." She finally spit out. 

"Don't worry, I would have probably come back to haunt you in your dreams." He said comically. 

Joey. Even at the worst times, he had to be the funny man. 

"I'll go get the others...." She said as she left his bedside. 

He watched her go, a little upset that he didn't get to tell her how much he loved her. He should have. He nearly died..and now he would have to wait until the next car accident to tell her how he felt. (A/N: ^_^)

__

~Meanwhile~

"....so that's when they brought him here...." 

Yami listened to Yugi's story carefully. There was no details about if he felt a pain in his chest during his wait at the hospital or if he thought that Joey was on the verge of dying. He decided to ask, just in case Yugi left that out for a reason. As he opened his mouth to speak, Mai's words hampered his. 

"Joey's out of coma!" 

Yugi smiled and ran inside, while Yami watched from the window at their little reunion. He couldn't bear to go in there now. He just couldn't bring himself to it, even if he did go out of his way to see him. He sighed and dropped into the chair beside him, not noticing the young girl before him. 

"Yami? How is Joey?" 

Yami quickly looked up to see the girl that came in between Joey and him. The girl that built up enough rage inside Joey to go against his best friend. The girl that he used to love and admire, until she left him one faithful day to care for another. A girl named.....Serenity Wheeler. 

(Hm....should I continue? I guess so....since I am on a roll!)

"Yeah, he's just fine." Yami said coldly as she looked through the hospital window. 

"Ohhh..that's good....I was so worried when I got a call from Yugi......he told me that Joey was in a car accident. Ohh...I was just so worried, but at least he is alright." She said as she paced around the room. 

"Why don't you go in to see him?" Yami asked curiously. 

"I want to see him in private," she sighed, "right now he is with his friends..." 

"I see." Yami said softly. 

__

'What did I ever see in her?' 

"Oh Yami...." She said as she sat down and hugged him. "It is so painful to watch him in there..." 

Yami sighed. "It's okay, Serenity....I mean...it could have been worse." 

That's when he felt his shirt getting wet. She was crying on him. 

"It's okay Serenity," he patted her back, "At least he is in good condition." 

She looked up. "Yes. You're right." 

"Will you be alright?" He asked softly. 

She hugged him tighter, while he continued to pat her back impatiently. 

"Thank you, Yami." She mumbled. "I really appreciate it." 

"Don't worry. I always be there for you." He said. 

__

'What?'

He shrugged it off guessing it was a spur of the moment thing, but he wished he hadn't. 

Why? One Word. Tea. 

__

~To be continued....~

Hehehehehhehehehe! I'm so evil!! Oh well....at least I didn't kill Joey off. ^_^ Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter. It should be a juicy one....especially when Yami confronts Tea after Serenity walks in to see Joey. Woops! Did I say too much? Nah...I leave you guys to think about that. 

__ __ __ __ __


	10. Save Me

Disclaimer: Don't own YGO still.

__

A/N: Hello! I'm back with a new chapter to "A Fresh Start!" Sorry for the delay, I was...busy...*hides PS2*....yeah. ^_^' Anyway, sorry about the cliffhanger and the reappearance of Serenity. I know you are sick of her, heck...I'm sick of her! *_* I promise that she won't intrude anymore.

Chapter 10: _Save Me _

Today was not going well for Tea. She ran into Duke, found out about Joey's accident, and had to hitch a ride from Tristan because her car broke down. The scene in front of her just added to her misfortune. She couldn't believe he could just fall into Serenity's arms like this. Wait, she could. With Serenity in a vulnerable state, Yami could just feel sorry for her and become her shoulder to cry on. Men were too predictable. But, Yami's expression to the whole situation was not what she expected. He looked upset...as if he didn't want her to see Serenity and him together. Did he like her? No. That was her fantasy.

Yami couldn't take his eyes off of Tea. This whole situation was a nightmare to him. He hoped Tea didn't think that he was with Serenity now, especially since that would just blow his chances with Tea like dust on a countertop. He tried to relax and think positive, but the thought of not being with Tea nearly put his head through a tailspin. Wait. As he looked into Tea's eyes, Yami could see a hint of jealousy in them. Did she like him? No. That was his fantasy.

"Tea...." Yami said uneasily as Serenity let go of him. "I didn't-"

"Excuse me, but you all shouldn't be in this hallway like this.....it's a fire hazard." A stout woman with orange hair said to the group. "At least two of you will have to wait in the lobby." She said as she walked into Joey's room.

Tea sighed, trying to avoid eye contact with Yami. "I'll wait in the lobby."

"I'll go with you," Tristan said kindly, "I know you have been through a rough day."

"Thanks Tristan." Tea said as she gave him a warm smile.

"No problem, Tea." He said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

__

'Hmph! Take that Yami.'

And take it he would. Yami couldn't bear to watch Tea with another guy, let alone, one of his good friends. But, then again, he wondered how Tea felt when Serenity was with him. _Same story, different chapter. _A chapter he would not get into at the moment. Besides, he had to figure out a way to be alone with Tea. Especially since he needed to clean up the mess with Serenity. After a moment of thinking, an idea popped into his head. He decided to play dirty with a _little _white lie.

"No Tristan, I was talking to Joey and he really wants to see you."

__

'Okay, so it wasn't that little, but it did get the job done.'

"Probably wants to see if I can steal some hospital food for him." Tristan said sarcastically.

Everyone let out a soft chuckle.

"So, who's going with Tea then?" Tristan looked at everyone. "Do we have to draw straws?"

Yami shook his head, patiently waiting for this opportunity. "I'll go since I did already see Joey."

__

'No! He probably wants to talk about Serenity.'

Tea's eyes lowered, until she heard Serenity call his name.

__

'What the heck did she want from him now?'

Tea tried to hear their conversation, but she couldn't make out anything. She started to get angry, until she realized that she was....jealous. Why was she jealous? It wasn't like Yami and her were going out or anything. I mean, they were spending time together and even had a few close encounters....but did that make them an item?

She grunted and whispered, "an item on retail maybe."

"What happened?" She heard Yami ask.

__

'Where did he come from?'

She tilted her head up to meet a pair of violet eyes. _His eyes._

"Ohh...nothing..."

She looked away from him and made her way toward the elevator. Yami followed, ignoring Tea's cold shoulder. He knew she was mad at him, after all, she had every right to be. He told Tea countless times that it was over between Serenity and him, but each time he said it....Serenity came into the picture once again. It wasn't his fault that Serenity needed a friend sometimes, then again, it was his fault that he allowed her to take it to the next level.

Silence followed the two down the elevator and into the lobby, where they both seated themselves quietly by the window. Yami looked over to Tea who was looking out the window. He really wanted to talk to her. He had to tell her that....wait.....what could he really tell her?

'I wasn't hugging Serenity, I was just showing her how the Hitotsu-Me Giant crushes his enemy!'

Yami rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. He wouldn't lie to Tea, it would just make matters worse if she found out the truth. Wait, why would he lie anyway? It wasn't like he had anything to hide. He just hugged Serenity for comfort. It wasn't anything romantic. No, he was over Serenity. 

Tea looked away from the window to catch a glimpse of Yami staring at her. Yami looked away quickly and cursed himself for getting caught. He sighed heavily and decided to say something to her. 

"Yugi told me that a drunk driver hit Joey. He even tried to flee the scene, but cops cuffed him three blocks from the accident. It's amazing what alcohol can make you do." Yami cleared his throat. 

Tea turned to him. "That's horrible."

"Yeah, but at least Joey is okay." Yami said as Tea nodded slowly. 

"When do you think he will get out of the hospital?" Tea asked as Yami shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm hoping a couple of days." Tea nodded again. 

There was a silence again, that is, until Yami felt it was time to get what he was feeling off of his mind. "Tea, I know this is not the time or the place to really say this, but I want you to know that what you saw back there with Serenity was nothing more than......a friend helping another friend." 

There was some truth to what Yami was saying, but Tea was not convinced. It must have been when he said, _ 'Don't worry. I always be there for you' _to Serenity that literally made him so unbelievable. Why did he lie to her? Why didn't he just tell her that Serenity and him were back together? She kicked herself mentally for ever believing that he would get over Serenity. 

"Yami, just forget about it. It's over and done with." She said, trying to control her temper. 

Yami could feel the anger in her voice. "It doesn't seem like you're over it...." 

Tea couldn't bottle up what she was feeling anymore. 

"Does it matter, Yami?" She stood up and looked at him. "You will always choose Serenity in the end anyway! You will never be over her. Don't say things that you don't mean!" 

Yami watched her walk toward the exit of the hospital. He couldn't believe what Tea said to him. How could she think that? He was over Serenity. Heck, Serenity even told him that she wishes him well with Tea. Was he sending off the wrong signals? Almost everyone knew that he was in love with Tea, except well, Tea! He needed to tell her! He wouldn't let her think that there was no place for her in his heart. 

"Tea, no!" He whispered as he quickly walked out of the hospital. "TEA!" 

He found her sitting on a bench, staring at an empty street. He sat next to her and looked at her. She only concentrated harder on the street. She didn't want to hear what he had to say. 

"Tea, I'm over Serenity." Yami said honestly. "I only hugged her back there because her brother was in pain and she couldn't see him like that! I would have done the same thing for you if your brother was in there!" 

Tea shook her head and frowned. "Yes, I know. I really don't know what came over me. It was wrong of me to interfere with your personal life. I guess I just don't want to see you get hurt again. You're my best friend, Yami. I would never want some girl to ever break your heart a second time. As a matter of fact, I would break her if she even thought about taking you for granted a second time!" 

Yami laughed and put his hand out. "Friends forever?" 

She smiled and clasped her hand with his. "Friends forever." 

__

'Okay, so I didn't tell her how I feel....and now we are still friends. Well, at least Serenity is out of the picture for good. Maybe there is still a chance of making her mine....' 

Yami smiled at his thought. Yes, Tea would be his next goal. 

__

~Back in the Hospital~

"Hey! Where were you guys!?" Yugi asked as Tea and Yami walked up to him. 

"Went for a walk," Yami said as Tea nodded. 

Yugi smirked, knowing that they were lying. "Well, Joey is ready to see you." 

"Okay, thanks Yugi." Tea said as she walked toward the elevator. 

Yami looked at Yugi. "Did he say anything about me?" 

"Yeah, he really wants to see you." Yugi said as he put a hand on Yami's shoulder. 

Yami sighed. "I don't know if I can see him." 

"Stop blaming yourself for the accident. It wasn't your fault." Yugi forced out. 

Yami was shocked by Yugi's words. But, everything Yugi said was true. He did blame himself for the accident. Nothing seemed to alleviate the blame, even the drunk driver. 

"Yami, go see him." Yugi said. "Trust me." 

Yami nodded and headed for the elevator that Tea was patiently holding for them. Once up, Tea walked into Joey's room while Yami paced around the hallway, waiting for a chance to see his friend. Finally, Tea walked out and signaled Yami to go in. He swallowed hard and opened the door. 

"Joey?" Yami asked as Joey looked up. 

"Hey man," he said weakly. 

Yami sat down next to him. "How are you feeling?" 

"Crappy," Joey said as Yami smiled. 

"You'll feel better in a couple of days." Yami promised. 

"Sez you." Joey said sarcastically as he shifted his position in the bed. 

"Ah, stop being a baby," Yami chuckled. 

"Nah, I think I like the attention." Joey said as Yami rubbed his neck. 

"You would." 

"Eh! I'll stab you with this fork if you keep it up!" Joey pointed a fork at him. 

"No, anything but that!" Yami said as they both laughed. 

Once they stopped laughing, Joey smiled and said, "thanks for coming...." 

Yami frowned. "I would have came sooner, but-" 

"Yugi told me that you blame yourself for the accident." Joey interrupted. "Listen to me! Stop burdening yourself with other people's problems! You're going to go insane." 

"But Joey-"

"It wasn't your fault." He paused. "We had a dispute about Serenity, but I realized that she dumped you. I shouldn't have blamed you like that. I guess it's just because I finally got a chance to be with my sister and then she had to leave me...again. I took my anger out on you. It's was a selfish act, but I want you to know that I am sorry." 

"Forget about it." Yami said. "At least you know that I didn't drive your sister out of town." 

Joey laughed. "I think you would find yourself six feet under by now." 

"Or stuck with a fork...." Yami added. 

They looked at each other and burst out laughing again. 

"I love you, man!" Joey said as Yami nodded. 

"Me too," Yami said as they high-fived each other. 

"HEY!" Tristan yelled as him, Yugi, Serenity, Mai, and Tea walked in. 

Joey smiled and sat up in bed. "AWW! Group hug!" 

Everyone chuckled and huddled around Joey's bed. Tea looked over to see Yami looking over to her. He smiled and put an arm around her waist. Tea was surprised at first, but smiled and put her head on his shoulder. 

__

'I think everything is going to be okay from now on....' 

They both thought at the same time as they listened to Joey talk about how this hot nurse was about to give him a sponge bath when her shift was over and an old bag gave him one instead. 

"Oooohhh! So did you get down and dirty with granny?" Tristan said as Joey threw a pillow at him. 

"Don't make me stick you with a fork!" Joey yelled. 

Everyone laughed and shook their heads at the two. 

__

~To be continued.........~ 

I was inspired to write this chapter by the Smallville Soundtrack, hence the chapter title. *wink* Anyway, should the next chappie be the last? Just wondering! 

__


	11. Caught Up

Title: _A Fresh Start_

Chapter Eleven: _Caught Up _

"Should I tell her?"

Yugi growled softly as he heard Yami breathe these words......_for the fifteenth time_. It wasn't like he was ignoring Yami's question, he just didn't have an answer. Love was a hard thing to explain. It wasn't like Yugi could just give him a simple solution to his problem, he really needed to know how Yami felt about Tea and what lengths he would go to win her heart. As he sat down next to Yami, he decided to answer his question.

"Yami," Yugi cleared his throat, "it's _your _decision."

Yami turned to him, obviously upset by Yugi's response. He knew that it was his decision to make, he just wanted Yugi to help him decide what option was best. It wasn't like this was an easy decision. His choice could not only hurt him, it could hurt Tea as well. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Yes, but it's your opinion I am asking for."

Yugi turned to him and said sarcastically, "I have no opinion."

"This is serious, Yugi...." Yami said as he lowered his eyes.

Yugi surrendered to Yami's sad face and said, "if you must know, I think it would be wise if you told her while you still have the chance. You never know what tomorrow may bring, Yami."

After Yami thought about what Yugi said he stated, "you should become a psychiatrist."

Yugi smiled and stood up from his seat. "I try..."

Yami smiled, happier that he got some of the weight of his shoulders. As he looked at the clock on the Game Shop wall, Yami turned to Yugi and said, "don't you think it's about time that we go to Joey's house?"

"Well, I'm not the one that has been sulking in the corner all morning." Yugi looked him up and down. "You didn't even take a shower yet. Do you know that we have to be there in fifteen minutes?"

Yami shrugged his shoulders. "Fashionably late, I always say..."

"Hmm....you know? Tea told me that she was going to join in a game of spin the bottle before we start setting up for Joey's 'Welcome Home' party. Oh well, I guess she will just wind up kissing.......Tristan"

"WHAT!?" Yami's eyes bolted out.

Yugi nodded innocently and watched as Yami rushed toward the upstairs bathroom, almost tripping over one of his dueling games as he did so. Once he heard the bathroom door shut, Yugi whispered, "sucker...." and continued to prepare things for the party.

~At Joey's house~

"Mai, what does _'EMOH EMOCLEW' _mean? Is that German or something?" Tristan asked curiously.

"Huh?" Mai uttered as she looked at the banner she was pinning up. "Tristan, that's _'WELCOME HOME!'_

"Oooooh......wait....I don't see it..." He said as he cranked his head sideways.

"......and I thought I was the blonde one..."

Mai turned the banner around and yelled angrily, "IT'S BACKWARDS!"

"Well, would you look at that!" Tristan exclaimed as Mai smacked her forehead. "That was a good one."

"Thanks Tristan," Mai said, trying to control her temper.

As he walked away to help Tea with the stereo system, she was thinking of throwing something hard at him, but then she realized that he might think that the sky was falling. After laughing silently to herself, she decided to continue setting up the decorations for Joey's _"Welcome Home" _party. It had only been four days since Joey checked into the hospital, she didn't see why he needed a party to welcome him back to his house, but knowing Joey, he probably forgot what his house looked like by now.

__

*RING*

Mai resided from her thoughts to hear Tea yell from the kitchen, "that's probably Yugi and Yami! Could you let them in, Mai?"

"Sure," Mai said as she walked toward the door and opened it. "What a surprise..."

"Sorry we're late." Yugi said as he walked in with a couple of bags. "This one over here couldn't find a pair of pants to match his shirt. I told him that his blue jacket would have matched, but he told me that it clashed with the silver chains on his neck."

"It did!" Yami exclaimed as Mai covered her mouth to suppress a laugh.

"Anyway," Yugi gave Yami a fixed stare, "I brought balloons, some chips, and a couple of cds."

"Cool," Mai said as she looked toward the kitchen. "TEA!"

"Yeah," Tea answered as she appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Oh, hey guys!"

Yami blushed as her gaze shifted upon him.

"Hey," Yugi said as he walked toward her. "Is everything almost ready?"

Tea nodded but then frowned once she heard Tristan ask, "How much sugar were we supposed to put in the cake mix?"

"Two cups, why?"

"Umm..."

Tea sighed and whispered, "I'll be back..."

Yugi chuckled and turned around to see Yami in a daze. "Yami...?"

Yami turned to Yugi and said, "I can't do it, Yugi."

"You can't do...wh-" He stopped when he realized that Yami was referring to Tea. "Ohh.."

Mai stared at Yugi and Yami awkwardly.

__

"Why does Yami look so upset? What can't he do? Could it have something to do with...Tea? Wait, for the past couple of days Tea has been acting as wierd as Yami has. Is there something.....going on? Maybe I should talk to Tea about it.."

"OH NO, JOEY'S HERE!"

Mai shook out of her train of thought to see Tea and Tristan pointing to the front door. Mai looked in the direction they were pointing to see two shadows at the front door. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at each other.

"Quick, everyone behind the couch.." Tristan said quietly. "Yugi, turn off the lights."

"Remember, when Joey opens the door, we all jump up and yell 'welcome home'...." Tea whispered as everyone nodded.

As everyone ducked behind the couch, they started hearing the voices of Serenity and Joey Wheeler.

"Get ready..." Tristan whispered as they heard the sound of keys.

"....so I was like, 'girl, I'm like a Visa check card....everywhere you want to be!'..."

"My brother, the flirt..."

"Who can-"

"WELCOME HOME!"

Joey gasped and put a hand on his heart. "What's going on...?"

"What does it look like?" Mai asked sarcastically.

"It looks like you guys were trying to finish me off..." Joey frowned and added, "listen, I already told you guys that when I die, Serenity gets my stereo."

"You loser!" Mai yelled as everyone laughed and walked over to hug Joey.

Joey smiled and said, "you guys are the best!"

"Of course we are, or at least I am.." Tristan said sarcastically.

Joey smiled and high-fived his best friend. "Thanks for doing this guys."

"That's what friends are for." Tea said as Joey blushed.

__

"That's what friends are for! For good times and bad times, only you can always count on me!" Tristan sang in a high-pitched voice as everyone joined in (including Mai) and started swinging back and forth to the rhythm.

__

~Two hours later~

"Hey Tea, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Tea looked over to Mai, who was standing by the kitchen. "Sure..."

As she walked into the kitchen with Mai, Tea wondered what Mai wanted.

"Umm...what's wrong?"

Mai shook her head. "Nothing, I was just wondering when you were going to clue me in about Yami."

"Huh?"

"You know what I mean." Tea looked at her with a confused look. "Tea, you can't keep this a secret forever."

"You think Yami and I are...together?" Tea laughed nervously. "Where did you get that idea?"

"The way you two look each other usually gives it away."

Tea cocked an eyebrow up. "The way we look at each other?"

"Don't play dumb." Mai frowned. "I know when you are lying, Tea."

"I'm not lying, Mai." Tea said softly. "We're not together."

"So, you're just friends?"

"......"

"Tea?"

"I don't know..." Tea said as her gaze shifted upon Mai.

"Maybe you should talk to him." Mai said as Tea sighed.

"I can't," Tea added, "he wants to be friends."

Mai laughed, but stopped when she saw Tea's sad look. "Tea, you actually believe what he says? Guys are dumb, remember that! I've noticed a very drastic change in the way he acts and talks around you. Believe me, he wants you more than a friend."

Tea put a hand on the counter. "What if-"

"He wants you more than a friend." Mai reassured as she put a hand on hers.

"I need to talk to him." Tea said as she walked toward the doorway, but stopped and looked at Mai. "Thanks, Mai. You're one of the few that I can trust with my problems. I just hope that you can trust me with yours one day."

As Tea started walking out the door again, Mai grabbed her by the arm and said, "I do trust you."

"Do you?"

"Is this about Joey?"

"Could be..." Tea said as she folded her arms.

"Listen," Mai sighed as she whispered, "it would never work out between me and Joey."

"Why not?"

"I've been through too many relationships to know...."

Tea frowned. "Joey's different."

"Could have told you that," Mai laughed.

"Be serious," Tea said as Mai sighed again, "I think you should give it a try."

"Why?"

"Joey loves you as much as you love him."

"I..." Mai looked at Tea. "Fine."

Tea hugged Mai and said, "you'll thank me for this one day."

Mai only shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the room in search of Joey.

"I need some air," Tea said as her eyes wandered toward the porch. "Perfect."

As Tea walked out of the kitchen, Yami walked in yelling, "I'm just going to get a drink, Yugi!"

As he reached for the fridge handle, he saw a glint of blue coming from the porch. As his eyes adjusted to the vicinity, he realized that the glint of blue was Tea. He put his glass down and sighed deeply to himself. He really wanted to tell Tea about his feelings for her, but something kept holding him back. He couldn't tell if it was nerves or just rejection.

__

'This is my chance.....should I tell...her?'

Yami straightened his collar and looked at Tea. _"It's now or never......"_

He walked toward the porch feeling quite confident in himself, that is, until he put his hand on the door to open it. His hand started to shake and negative thoughts started to flood his mind.

'I can do this, it's just Tea..'

He nodded and slid the door open to see Tea leaning on the balcony. She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed and the wind blowing through her hair. As he stepped forward, she opened her eyes and turned toward him slightly.

"You know, I was just thinking about you." She said as he hid a blush.

"Really?" He asked, but then added, "wait, good thoughts or bad?"

She laughed. "They were good for the most part."

He leaned his arm on the balcony and said, "I feel special now."

She smiled.

__

'She has such a beautiful smile...'

"How long have we been friends Yami?"

He shook out of his thoughts and looked at her. "Umm....about five years."

I felt like I was in a movie the first time we met." She said with a sigh.

"Why do you say that?" He asked as she turned to him.

"I was the _damsel in distress_ and you were my _knight in shining armor _that had come to save me from the _evil villain_."

"I never really thought of it that way," Yami said as she looked away from him.

"Me either," Tea chuckled. "Just an idea that popped into my head while I was out here."

Yami breathed in heavily.

"It's weird," Tea sighed, "I used to think that Duke was my knight in shining armor, but then I got a taste of reality."

__

'I wish she would think of me as her knight....'

"You'll find your knight one day." Yami said softly.

__

'....even though I'm/he's right in front of her/me...'

Tea and Yami both thought as a silence grew between them.

"Well, well, well...." Tea flinched at the voice of her old boyfriend. "How are you, Tea?"

"What are you doing here, Duke?" 

He only laughed and gave his trademark smile. 

"Let's go in, Tea....." 

"Wait," Tea said as she looked at Duke, "I want to know why he is here..."

"I told you that we needed to talk," he smiled, "now is as good a time as any." 

"Wrong," Yami said as he stepped forward. 

"What? Are you her new protective boyfriend?" 

Yami smiled. "Actually, I am...." 

"Huh?" Duke and Tea uttered as they looked at Yami. 

__

~To be continued........~

Well, I didn't end it yet! I hope you liked this chapter and I will have the next chappie up as soon as possible. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. 


	12. Always You

Disclaimer: *yawn* Does anyone actually care about this?

A/N: OMG! I got the new Blink 182 cd!!! *________* Ummm....I mean, I'm here to bring you the last chapter to "A Fresh Start." Hope you enjoy and thanks for everything reviewers! 

Chapter Twelve: _Always You_

"I'm bored," Tristan said groggily, "what should we do?"

Joey looked over to his friend and said, "I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do?" Tristan repeated.

After a moment's silence, Joey's eyes lit up. "I know what I want to do..."

"What?" Tristan and Serenity, who was also in the room, asked at the same time.

"I don't know..." Joey stated.

Tristan threw a pillow, that he found on the couch, at Joey and sighed, "how about we watch a movie?"

"Movies are good." Yugi said as he looked through some dueling movies.

"I say we watch something with...action."

Tristan gagged at Joey's suggestion. "Nah, let's go for a horror."

"Action..." Joey said, getting a little testy.

"Horror.." Tristan responded.

"Listen, the girls will be scared if we watch a horror movie, right Serenity?"

"Actually, I think a horror movie is good-"

"You see, she'll be scared." Joey said as Serenity gave him a confused stare.

Tristan put a hand on his chin and asked, "Joey wouldn't happen to be _scared _of a little horror, would he?"

"No!" Joey yelled defensively. "I'd just prefer some action..."

"Fine..."

Tristan got up and pretended to look through some DVDs when he was actually sneaking up behind Joey to play a little trick on him. Once he was behind Joey, he put both hands on Joey's shoulders forcefully and yelled, "BOO!" The outcome of the trick was the victim racing out of his seat, screaming in a very feminine tone. Once Joey turned around to see Tristan laughing his head off, he blushed and clenched his fists together, which only made Tristan laugh more.

"You.....are...scared...." Tristan said between laughs.

Joey growled. "So what if I'm scared of horror movies! I'm also scared of your face, but I don't say anything."

"Oooohh...." Yugi and Serenity said in the background as they quietly stepped back.

"Come here and say that!" Tristan said angrily as Joey smiled.

"Ahhhh..." Yugi and Serenity whispered again.

"Sorry, but your face is blinding my view!"

"Oooohh..."

Joey and Tristan stopped arguing and looked at Yugi and Serenity. "What are you guys doing?"

"Commenting." Yugi and Serenity said in unison.

Joey and Tristan rolled their eyes and completely forgot that they were arguing until Mai asked from the kitchen, "have you decided what we are watching? Action or horror?"

"Action!" and "Horror!" came out at exactly the same time Mai finished her statement. Tristan and Joey then looked at each other and started to debate again on whether they were going to watch action or horror.

"Action!"

"Horror!"

"Action!"

"Horror _has_ action in it!"

"Oh yeah, well........your mama!"

Everyone in the room looked at Joey.

"Yeah! Take that one!"

Before Joey could embarrass himself even more, Mai stepped in from the kitchen and said, "why don't you guys just let the crippled boy decide, after all, this party is for him. He should decide."

"Thank-" Joey stopped and glared at Mai for saying "crippled boy"

Tristan laughed and said, "okay, crippled, what will it be? Action might be a little too much for you.."

"You're so lucky that I don't have a fork in reach..." Joey said as he slowly stood up.

"Why are getting up? The pizza man isn't here yet." Mai said as she pretended to look out the window.

"Very funny," Joey said as he made his way across to her, "I actually got up to get something to drink."

"Gasp!" Tristan uttered as Joey shot him a dirty look.

"I'm not _that_ lazy!" Joey said as everyone let out an obvious cough. "You guys stink!"

"You have to admit that you are lazy..."

"Yeah, well, you have to admit that..." he trailed off and looked above Mai's head, "..you have to kiss me..."

"What?" Mai said, with a confused tone.

"Mistletoe," Joey said as he pointed to a dried-up bush above their heads. "Pucker up, baby."

"It's not even Christmas, crippled." Mai said as she folded her arms.

"Rules still apply..." Joey said, followed by a bright smile.

Mai grimaced. "Don't tell me. According to your rules?"

"Maybe yes, maybe no."

"I'm not-"

Mai was cut off by Tristan, who was looking toward the kitchen door. "What's going on outside?"

Everyone turned their heads and looked at the kitchen door, where they could see the heads of Duke, Tea, and Yami. As Mai and Yugi walked over to instigate, Joey looked at the mistletoe and whispered, "almost..."

__

~Meanwhile~

"You can't be serious," Duke uttered as he looked at Tea, "this loser is your...._boyfriend_?"

Tea, who was bewildered by the turn of events, didn't acknowledge Duke. She was puzzled by Yami's declaration of being her boyfriend. Not that she minded, she just didn't understand why he would make that affirmation. As she turned to look at him, Yami had his eyes set on Duke when he said, "watch who you call a loser. Remember, I'm the one with Tea."

"Yes, why is that, _Tea_?" Duke asked, emphasizing Tea's name so Yami couldn't answer.

Tea shook out of her thoughts and played Duke's question in her head a couple of times before trying to give an answer.

"Well," she started uneasily, unable to find the words to finish her sentence. "I'm not-"

"You don't need to prove anything to him, Tea," Yami said as he gently pulled her toward him and whispered, "just play along."

Tea wasn't too sure about what he meant by "just play along," but she decided to trust him, knowing that she had nothing to lose. As she turned from Yami to Duke, she said, "I know I don't, Yami, he's not worth it."

Duke's face turned a shade of red once he saw Yami take Tea's hand in his. "I'm definitely worth something to you!"

His statement was ignored by Yami and Tea, who were "pretending" to flirt with each other. As he growled slightly, Tea turned to Duke slightly and asked, "what was that, Duke? I couldn't hear you because Yami was telling me about-"

"How can you move on with him!? He's not even half the man I am!" Duke exploded as he pointed to Yami accusingly.

"Duke, why are you acting like this?" Tea asked, but then added, "why can't you be happy for me?"

Duke lowered his eyes and whispered, "because I miss you."

Tea would have felt sorry for him if she didn't know him better. "No, you don't."

"How could you say that, Tea?" Duke asked, looking at her.

"I wouldn't call our constant arguments a sign of love." Tea answered as she let go of Yami's hand.

"You need to understand, Tea-"

Tea shook her head and said, "no, you need to understand that it's over and I moved on with Yami."

"Why....him?"

Tea looked toward Yami. "He makes me happy, which is something you could never do."

Yami looked at her, a little confused by what she was saying. He knew that she was acting, but her words felt like they were coming from the heart. Was she trying to make Duke jealous or was it actually a sign that she liked him?

"I can't believe it," Duke muttered, "I won't believe it."

Tea frowned. "Why are you making this so difficult? It's been a month since we broke up. You have to realize that there's no chance of me ever loving you back again. I've been through too much. The only effect you have on me is making me sick."

Duke's eyes lowered. "Tea...we can make this work..."

"It's too late," Tea whispered, "Yami is what I've always wanted."

"Tea..." He pleaded.

"Duke, shut up!" Tea yelled angrily. "I have nothing more to say to you. You need to learn to let go."

"Let go..." Duke whispered unconsciously.

Tea looked at him then back at Yami. "Make sure he leaves, alright?"

"Sure, I'll see you in the house."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, which caught Yami off-guard completely. He held a blush and watched her walk toward the house. He sighed lovingly and turned back to see Duke still caught in a daze. "Are you happy now?"

Duke looked at him and answered indirectly, "I guess you've won this dice duel..."

Yami didn't answer.

"Take care of her." Duke said as he turned around and walked away.

As Yami watched him leave, he started to get the feeling that Tea finally got through to Duke. The constant struggle was over between them and Tea had prevailed. As Duke disappeared around the block, Yami decided to walk back in with Duke's last words to him fresh in his mind.

__

~Meanwhile~

As Tea slid the door open to Joey's house, the whole gang was there to meet her. She put her hands on her hips and whispered, "I should have known. Did you hear everything that was going on out there?"

"Well...." Mai started uneasily.

Tea put a hand on her forehead. "I'm sorry about all this, Joey-"

"What's to be sorry about?" Joey responded as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Duke is a big jerk. You just made my day by telling him off. Now, come on, let's go watch a movie to calm all our nerves."

Tea nodded and was about to walk into the living room with the others when Mai held her back. "So, how did it feel to tell Yami? I'm sure you got a lot of pressure off your back by telling him. I wish I could have told Joey, but he's too thickheaded to actually pick up on my signals."

Tea blushed at what Mai said. "Umm...I didn't tell Yami how I felt. It was an act."

"An act? But-"

"I know," Tea interrupted, "most of what I said was...true."

That's when Yami walked in with a slight smile on his face. "Come on, Yami, we're going to watch a movie."

Mai pulled Tea and Yami into the living room, where Joey and the others were deciding on a movie.

"Hmmm....what _action_ movie should we watch?" Joey said sarcastically.

"Not this again..." Mai muttered as Yami and Tea sat down.

Yugi picked a DVD up and said, "How about 'Saving Ryan's Private?' "

A/N: O______o

Everyone looked at Yugi awkwardly, ready to burst out laughing. Yugi only watched them, confused by their actions. As he looked at the DVD title, he finally realized his mistake. "No! I meant 'Saving Private Ryan!' "

"Riiiiiggghhht..." Joey said as everyone started laughing.

Yugi frowned. "Seriously! I didn't mean it like that."

"Now we know what Yugi dreams about at night," Tristan said as Yugi blushed furiously, "don't worry, Yugi, I'm sure other people would like to save Ryan's private too."

__

~Later~

It was about seven o'clock when everyone decided to call it a night. Tea, Mai, and Yami decided to help clean up the mess, while Tristan and Yugi left early to avoid that kind of work. As the final piece of

popcorn was picked from the carpet, Tea got her coat and was ready to leave, when Yami asked her to wait for him. As she waited, she said her goodbyes to Serenity, Mai, and, of course, Joey. Once Yami was ready, they set off toward Tea's house, which was only three blocks away.

As Serenity left the house to do some errands, Mai and Joey stood in the doorway, looking at the sky, which was filling with stars. Mai looked toward Joey and said, "what a day, eh?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah. It was what any crippled boy could ask for."

"Joey," Mai nudged him, "I was only kidding about that."

"I know."

Mai grinned. "You gotta admit that it was funny."

"Evil is more like it." Joey said as Mai let out a chuckle.

As a silence started to form between them, Mai broke it by saying, "I better get going."

"I'll get your coat." Joey said, which amazed Mai.

"Wow, Joey acting his age."

"There's a first time for everything, you know." Joey responded.

"Yup, you just proved that statement."

Joey smiled and looked at Mai.

"I guess I should be going..." Mai said as Joey's smile slightly faded.

He wouldn't let this chance of being with Mai pass him by. He had to say something that would make her stay longer. "Umm...thanks for everything, Mai. It was really nice...to see you....here."

"Hey, we're friends, right?"

Joey nodded and slightly looked up toward the sky for a miracle. He gasped and clasped his hand together in gratitude when he saw something that would stop Mai in her tracks. "Hey, Mai, what's that above your head? Is that a _mistletoe_?"

"Another one?" Mai asked, "you plant these around the house, don't you?"

Joey shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, Serenity put these up about a year ago, but I'm not complaining."

"Typical." Mai answered with a smirk.

"So..."

"Oh! You win!" Mai frowned. "Close your eyes though."

Joey nodded and closed his eyes. Mai could have sprinted to her car and drove off by now, but she wanted this kiss as much as he did. She was thinking of leaning forward and just giving him a peck on the lips, but she found that too boring. She would shock him with an opened mouth kiss. She snickered at the thought and breathed in slowly. This was it....

__

~To be continued~

__

Well, I found this to be too long to actually finish the story, so the next chappie will definitely be the end. Thanks again for the reviews and see ya soon!!!! 

~Jelly~


	13. Do you feel the same way?

Disclaimer: Me know own YGO, plain and simple....

A/N: This chapter starts off with Mai and Joey, but will end with Yami and Tea *hopefully* together. 

Chapter 13: _Do you feel the same way?_

This was it...

As Mai stared at her blonde-haired crush, her lips started to tremble because they knew that they were about to touch something that she had deprived them of. She had taken a fancy to Joey since their duel back in Duelist Kingdom, but she had been used so many times by men that she couldn't find it in herself to actually admit that she loved him. That's when his accident occurred. It opened her eyes to realize that Joey was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Through good and bad, Joey stood by her side like any other true friend would. So, could she cross their strong friendship bond to fulfill her own desires?

Mai frowned at the thought of ruining a perfectly stable friendship because of a stupid crush. Wait, was it just a crush? Though she was young, Mai knew love like the back of her palm, but would she take the chance to find out that Joey just wanted her as a best friend? She wouldn't be able to look at Joey the same way again, knowing that he didn't want her like that. It would be too uncomfortable to bear. Could she......

"Hey, Mai, is it Christmas already?"

No, she wouldn't let an opportunity like this pass her by. It was now or never and Mai chose now. She didn't live a life of regrets, so why would she whimper out when she was ahead in the duel? She took a deep breath and stepped forward nervously.

Slowly, but surely, their lips met and the feeling was unexplainable. Joey, being the victim of Mai's stratagem, didn't know what was going on until Mai's warm hands around his neck woke up his senses. Realizing that Mai was kissing him, Joey wasn't going to waste an opportunity to show her how he felt about her. He kissed her back lovingly and brought his hand to her cheek. Mai only brought him closer until she realized that they both had to breathe at some point. She slowly slid out of his embrace and their lips parted.

"Joey, I-"

Joey shook his head and met her lips again. He then left a trail of butterfly kisses from her lips all the way to her ear. His breath against her ear frightened, but thrilled Mai at the same time. She knew he was grinning when he whispered, "I know, Mai. I love you too..."

"What?" Mai pulled away hastily, ruining their romantic moment. "How did you know I was going to say that?"

Joey titled his head, confused by her actions. "You kissed me, didn't you?"

"Still, I could of-"

"Does it matter?" Joey said as he pulled her toward him again. "Let's not think about that right now."

"Was I that obvious?" Mai groaned.

"No, not until the accident." Joey confessed. "I actually didn't know you cared about me until I was in the hospital bed and you said that 'you needed me.' It really opened my eyes to realize that my love was returned. I meant what I said back there. You were the only thing I thought about when I was in that car."

Mai beamed. "You really know how to make a girl feel special."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and put her head on his chest. "I love you, Joey."

"Me too." He whispered as they watched the stars continue to shine in the night sky.

__

~Meanwhile~

"Do you think Joey liked our party?"

Yami put his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "He seemed content."

"Hmm..." Tea mumbled as they crossed the street. "I hope so."

Yami could sense Tea's doubt, but he was too caught up in his own thoughts to say anything. It wasn't like he didn't care, he was just pondering about Tea's behavior at the party. There was so many mixed signals given that he couldn't just shut the door on what had happened with Duke. He needed to know if she had feelings for him.

"Something wrong?"

Yami shook his head and was about to say something when a drop of rain hit his cheek. "I stand corrected."

"They need to stop paying weather forecasters." Tea proclaimed with a dignified tone. "They can never give us a decent forecast."

Yami chuckled while watching Tea pull off her sweatshirt to us it as an umbrella for herself. "I take it you don't like the rain..."

"No," Tea shook her head, "I just don't like getting wet."

"Why? Are you going to melt?"

Tea gave him a fixed stare. "You're hilarious."

"Why, thank you." Yami smiled as the rain grew heavier. "You know, it won't hurt you."

"Say that two days from now when you have a cold." Tea said as she pulled the sweatshirt tighter to her head.

"I'll manage." Yami said as a few droplets ran down his face.

"Come on, Yami," Tea said as they crossed another street, "walk a little faster."

"Hey, don't rush my shower. It's the only one I'll have for a couple of weeks."

"Men." Tea said arrogantly.

"Women." Yami said mockingly.

"At least we don't bathe in the rain." Tea criticized, enhancing her walking speed.

Yami shrugged his shoulders. "At least we're not scared of getting a little wet."

Tea stopped and looked at him. "A little? This isn't a little!"

He only smiled and continued to walk.

"Fine," Tea pulled off her sweatshirt carefully, "happy?"

"I would be," he coughed, "if it was _actually_ raining at the moment."

Tea blushed once she noticed that the rain had slightly diminished. "Oh well...."

"You planned that, didn't you?" He folded his arms.

"No...." She uttered with a sarcastic tone.

Yami turned to her and said, "you need to start living."

"You need to start thinking rationally." Tea retorted.

His gaze fell upon her. "Thinking isn't rational."

Tea challenged his stare. "You mean your line of thinking isn't rational, right?"

Yami pretended to ignore what she said by tilting his head toward the sky dreamily. Tea gazed at him and noticed that he was soaked head-to-toe from the rain that he was so willing to shower in. She knew he was freezing when she asked him, "aren't you cold?" After getting only a negative head shake from Yami, she pulled her sweatshirt around his shoulders. He looked at her, confused by her actions. She ran a hand through her hair while saying, "you don't have to be a big-shot around me..."

"Actually," Yami smiled cooly, "I was waiting for you to warm me up."

Tea cocked an eyebrow up and said, "really? Well, today isn't your day and tomorrow isn't looking good either."

"Can you fit next week?" He asked as she pushed him playfully.

This push, however, caught Yami off guard and he fell onto the concrete in fits of laughter, ironically. Tea joined him on the floor and asked, "this really doesn't seem like your day, huh?" before laughing at their current state. As they laughed to the point of tears, Yami slowly ceased his chuckles to stare at Tea warily. Ra, he loved the way she laughed. It was the one thing that brought a smile to his face.

"I can't even breathe...." She muttered while holding her chest.

"Do you need an inhaler?"

She coughed and shook her head to decline. "I'll live."

"Good, I didn't have one anyway...." Yami said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

She laughed. "I think we're having way too much fun out here in the rain."

"Well...."

"YAMI!"

Yami evaded Tea's glare and proclaimed, "I wasn't thinking any bad thoughts..."

"What were you thinking about then?" Tea asked curiously.

Yami's eyes shifted upon Tea, who had seemed closer to him than before. "Nothing rational...."

"I don't want to know then," she brought herself to her feet.

"Why?" He stood up as well, "afraid you might like it?"

"Yeah, that's definitely it." Tea proclaimed as his smile brightened the street.

They walked to the edge of the curb, where they were greeted by cars making their way across the intersection. As they waited for the light to turn red for the cars to stop, Yami turned to Tea and asked, "hey Tea, why did the chicken cross the road?" with a slight German accent.

She dared to answer. "Why?"

Still in his German accent, Yami responded, "because I threw him..."

"You're really something...." She said as the traffic light turned red.

"Something good, I hope."

She laughed and nodded. "Of course, King of Games."

"Hmmm, wait," Yami looked at her suspiciously, "did I sense sarcasm?"

She laughed and walked ahead of him. "No, your mind must be playing tricks on you..."

"Or just some blue-eyed brunette," he whispered as he followed her.

Before silence could engulf them, Tea sighed and said softly, "Yami, I forgot to thank you for what you did back there."

"With Duke?"

Tea shuddered. "Yes, with he-who-must-not-be-named."

Yami laughed, but regained his composure to say, "it was nothing. You're my....friend."

__

'Friend?'

It seemed that neither of them found that word to suit their current relations with one another.

"Tea," Yami took on a more serious gaze, "I've been wanting to ask you something..."

"What is it?" She asked confidently, although afraid of what he was going to say.

Yami took in a deep breath and looked at her.

"When we were arguing with Duke and I asked you to pretend to be my girlfriend.......were you?"

Tea was slightly taken back by his question. "That's what you wanted me to do, right?"

Tea's answer produced a blow to Yami's heart. He had thought all along that Tea's tone before meant that she actually cared for him, but his hopefulness was blinding him from the unbearable truth. She didn't want him _like that_. Why did love make you so vulnerable?

"R-right..." He stuttered horribly. "That was a stupid question."

"Yami..." Tea breathed softly as he walked ahead of her. She couldn't understand why she responded to his question like so. After all, it was an honest inquiry that should have been answered with an honest response. As she dug deeper and deeper in her thoughts, Tea realized that if she gave him the answer he wanted, he would have known that she actually liked him _like that_. But, isn't that what she wanted?

Judging from Yami's reaction to her response, it was probably what he wanted too. _Wait_, that meant that he........

"Yami!" Her eyes lit up.

He turned around. "I didn't do anything this time!"

She admired his humor, though she knew he was hiding his true feelings.

"No, you didn't..."

Yami smiled weakly and asked, "why did you call me?"

"You were right," she looked at him and stepped forward. "I....wasn't pretending."

Yami stood there, speechless.

"I started off pretending, but then.....then the words....came naturally." Tea stopped, unsure if she wanted to continue. She inhaled deeply and decided to tell all. "It was like I wanted to be your girlfriend more than anything...back there..."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Yami breathed softly as he touched her arm.

"After Duke and I broke up, there was never a day where I didn't think about him." She sighed and continued, "when I started falling for you, I started thinking about my failed relationship with Duke. But, when we confronted Duke together, I realized how dumb it was to make a comparison between you and Duke. You're nothing like Duke."

"Which is a good thing..." He interrupted, which made Tea laugh.

"Let's not go there."

After sharing a laugh, Yami cleared his throat to ask softly, "so...umm....what now?"

"I don't know," she wrapped her arms around his neck. "What now?"

That's when it started to rain again. "That answers my question..."

She smiled and leaned forward so that their noses were touching. "So...are we official?"

"I don't know," he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Would you be my girlfriend?"

"Wow...I have a strange urge to sing a N'Sync song.."

He laughed as she continued, "I'd love to be your girlfriend."

"Since that's settled," he slowly closed the gap between them, "let's make it official...."

Seeking no answer, Yami tilted his head to capture Tea's lips, which obeyed to every command under his rule. While their lips were at work, their hands explored each other's bodies for warmth under the cloud of rain that had failed to disrupt their romantic moment. As they brought their kiss to a close to end another chapter to their romance novel, both knew that there would be new volumes to write.

"That was nice," he said softly as she smiled. "Again?"

Her giggles were muffled as they brushed lips once again.

"Hmmm...I can get used to this."

"Me too," she agreed as her thumb traced his lips.

He grasped her hand and whispered, "I love you, Tea Gardner."

"I love you, Yami Motou."

__

~Meanwhile~

His whole world was falling apart. Even the rain couldn't wash away the many troubles that were placed on his shoulders. As he sat on the bench in front of his profitable shop, he couldn't help but notice a pair of legs standing before him.

"Would you like to talk?"

He looked up to see a beautiful woman with green eyes stare back at him.

"I know you may not know me, but I recognize you from school." She paused to sit down next to him. "You seem troubled..."

"Troubled is not the word."

"Well, people say that I'm very good with helping people out with their problems....maybe I can help you."

"Highly unlikely." He whispered as she bit her lip.

"Alright then, I understand that you want to be left alone."

She stood up, but he touched her arm. "Wait, please stay."

"Granted," she said as she sat back down.

"First off," he looked at her. "what's your name, stranger?"

"Serenity Wheeler." She put her hand out.

He grasped it. "Duke Devlin."

__

~End~

Ironic, huh? Well, I think they both deserved a happy ending. *smiles* Thanks for reading this story and I hope to write another story that rivals this one.

Jelly


End file.
